A world leading Autism biobank has been officially launched in Australia today by the Minister for Health, the Hon Sussan Ley.
The Australian Autism Biobank, coordinated by researchers at Perth's The Kids Research Institute Australia, is an initiative of The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) and will contain detailed genetic and clinical information on 5,000 children with Autism.
Joint coordinator of the study Professor Andrew Whitehouse from The Kids Research Institute Australia said it was hoped the data collected in the Australian Autism Biobank would identify potential genetic and biological markers for autism, leading to earlier detection.
"In Australia, the average age of diagnosis is over 4 years of age, despite the fact that children can be diagnosed reliably by 2 years of age," Prof Whitehouse said. "We want to improve this dramatically."
"Early identification will help ensure these kids have access to early intervention services, giving them the best opportunity to reach their full potential."
Researchers currently collect blood samples, conduct clinical and cognitive assessments, and obtain detailed family medical histories from children aged between 2 and 17 years of age for the Biobank.
In the future, they plan to also collect additional biological samples, including stool, urine, and hair samples.
Joint coordinator of the project Dr Gail Alvares from The Kids Research Institute Australia, said the Biobank is an Australian-first study and will ultimately be one of the world's leading repositories of information about autism.
"Families who participate in this study are contributing to an Australian-first initiative, helping to develop better standards in diagnostic practises," Ms Alvares said.
"There are only a few international studies that have the scale of the Australian Autism Biobank, but none of these come close to the breadth of measures and samples we are collecting."
"Whilst this is an ambitious study, the generous contributions of Western Australian families to date prove that this will be a very successful, and amazing, resource for generations of scientists to come."
Autism CRC is a unique, world-first collaboration that has brought together key people, data and research facilities across Australia, and enabled large scale projects such as the Biobank to become a reality.
The Minister for Health, The Hon Sussan Ley, officially launched the Australian Autism Biobank at the AAB Wesley Medical Research in Brisbane on Monday, where it is physically located, on Monday March 21 at 12pm.
If you have a child diagnosed with autism and are interested in participating in the Australian Autism Biobank, please call 08 9489 7927 or email autism@telethonkids.org.au "
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About the Australian Autism Biobank:
The Australian Autism Biobank originated at The Kids Research Institute Australia in WA in 2011, starting as the Western Australian Autism Biological Registry, and has now been expanded nationally due to the formation of The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC).
At the time, this was Australia's largest biological study of autism to date, housing detailed genetic and clinical information on over 300 children with autism and their families, collected at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Collaborating with our partners within Autism CRC has provided the resources and expertise to expand this study nationwide, becoming the Australian Autism Biobank, collecting very detailed genetic and clinical information of almost 5000 children with autism, their families, and typically developing children across four states (WA, QLD, NSW, and VIC).
The national data collection is coordinated by Professor Andrew Whitehouse and Dr Gail Alvares at The Kids Research Institute Australia, University of Western Australia.
The four sites which will be contributing this data are The Kids Research Institute Australia at the University of Western Australia, La Trobe University, University of New South Wales and Mater Research at the University of Queensland. The Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland will process biological samples prior to being placed in the Biobank. The Biobank is physically located at the AAB Wesley Medical Research Tissue Bank.