The Seaver Center for Autism Research and Treatment Receives $2.78 Million Gift from the Beatrice and Samuel Seaver Foundation to Support Precision Medicine Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Trustees Hirschell E. Levine and John Cohen of the Beatrice and Samuel Seaver Foundation recently announced a $2.78 million gift to The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai to support precision medicine research in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including rare genetic causes of autism. This gift brings the Seaver Foundation’s support of the Center to $5 million for the year.
This funding will allow The Seaver Autism Center to enhance its focus on precision medicine, including expansion of research programs in ADNP syndrome, FOXP1 syndrome, DDX3X syndrome and SHANK3 syndrome. These rare genetic disorders provide unique windows into the causes of autism because biomarkers seen in rare genetic disorders can be used to stratify the patient population in idiopathic autism and create subgroups that, for example, may be more responsive to a particular treatment. Funding will also support the development of a drug discovery and development program, one of the first of its kind in the field of autism.
“The incredibly generous, ongoing support of the Seaver Foundation has been the cornerstone of the growth of the Center,” says Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD, Director of The Seaver Autism Center. “The Center’s reputation as a leader in the field of autism research and treatment, coupled with the continuous, extraordinary support from the Seaver Foundation, make us well positioned to take these crucial next steps to help autism treatment forward.”
“Over the past 25 years, The Seaver Center has grown and become one of the leading autism programs in the world,” says Kenneth L. Davis, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Mount Sinai Health System and Founding Director of The Seaver Center. “Our discoveries, accomplishments, and success in obtaining federal funding have roots in Seaver Foundation support and we are profoundly grateful for their continued generosity.”
Founded in 1993 through a gift from the Beatrice and Samuel Seaver Foundation to The Mount Sinai Hospital to address the unmet need for autism research in New York City, The Seaver Autism Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018. At the time of its founding, there was minimal awareness and research, but the Seaver Foundation and Mount Sinai were willing to take on the challenge of establishing an autism research and treatment center from the start. With this shared goal, The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment was born. This latest gift of support will enable the Center to push autism research and treatment forward to the next level.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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