Student News

We want to extend our deepest congratulations to Hari Srinivasan, one of our Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering (NISE) fellows. Hari co-authored the foreword for the new book Autism for Dummies with Temple Grandin. Hari’s section of the foreword is provided below, along with a link for those interested in… Read More

Keivan Stassun, left, with Billy and Jennifer Frist, BS’93, who established the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation in 2018 at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) We are thrilled to announce the release of an exciting article in Vanderbilt Magazine celebrating the groundbreaking work of the… Read More

We want to Congratulate two members of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation family today, Dr. Tyler Derr and Hari Srinivasan. This week, Vanderbilt University acknowledged them with Impact Awards in the faculty and PhD student categories, respectively. Hari Srinivasan with his Impact Award. Dr. Tyler… Read More

Due to funding cuts to the National Science Foundation made after the executive orders in the last several weeks, FCAI has lost $7 million in expected federal grant funding, and along with it some of our cornerstone programs for national impact. The $7 million in funding had been rigorously reviewed… Read More

The Frist Center is excited to announce applications are now open for our Autism Summer Internship Program. The program is open to undergraduate students who identify as neurodiverse (either through formal or self-diagnosis). Through this internship, successful applicants will undergo a STEM project with a faculty mentor, under the guidance… Read More

We are thrilled to share that our Program and Communications manager, Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, launched her non-profit, The Neuroverse Initiative (TNI), last week. This unique initiative operates at the intersection of space science and neurodiversity, with a mission to support neurodivergent space scientists in training, research, and advocacy. Read More

FCAI Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Hari Srinivasan has been awarded the 2024 Autistic and Neurodivergent Scholars Working for Equity in Research (ANSWER) Scholars Program Award for his project “Navigating the Near: Virtual Reality Investigations of Peripersonal Space in Autism.” Srinivasan will receive a $10,000 award next… Read More

Check out the groundbreaking commentary “Recruiting and Retaining Autistic Talent in STEMM” by Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Amber Crabtree, with collaboration from FCAI fellow AJ Hinton and FCAI Associate Director Dave Caudel. Published in iScience, the article addresses the… Read More

With great pride, we announce the selection of graduate student and FCAI NISE Fellow Amber Crabtreeas the recipient of the prestigious Fisk-Vanderbilt postdoctoral fellowship. This achievement is a testament to Amber’s hard work and the guidance she has received from her mentors, including FCAI Fellow AJ Hinton… Read More

Last Wednesday, 29th May, NISE Fellow and self-advocate Hari Srinivasan appeared on an AMBIV panel entitled AANHPI Autism Self-Advocacy Panel. The recording of the webinar is at this link, or watch below. The webinar featured an empowering online panel that showcased autistic Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander… Read More