Student News

All of our new 2026 interns on their first day at the center, on the left ASI lead Dave Caudel. This week, FCAI welcomed the newest cohort of students participating in our Autism Summer Internships (ASI). Through ASI, students gain meaningful, paid work experience with Vanderbilt and community partners while… Read More

WHAT IS THE STUDY? This study is by one of our own NISE fellows, Hari Srinivasan, and is taking place in person at the Wallace Lab on Vanderbilt Campus. The study is entitled: Virtual Bubbles, Real Insights. Investigating Peripersonal Space in Autism. A recent article by Vanderbilt Journalism Lab… Read More

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