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Determining Autism in Somali Immigrants in the Minneapolis Region
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Research Initiative
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CDC
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NICHD, NIEHS, NIMH, NIMHD
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Several Institutes and Centers at NIH are providing funds to CDC to support surveillance of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in select children who live in Minneapolis, with the goal of determining whether children of Somali descent have a higher ASD prevalence. This research initiative originated due to concerns in the Minneapolis community about the unexpected high number of Somali children in preschool programs for children with autism. While that study had a number of limitations, it was an important first step towards understanding autism prevalence in the Somali community. In response to concerns about the number of Somali children with autism living in Minneapolis, the CDC, NIH, and Autism Speaks funded the University of Minnesota through a competitive announcement from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) to estimate the number of children with autism living in Minneapolis and to examine whether autism is more common among Somali children than non-Somali children. The adopted study methods were developed by the CDC and are used by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network. The ADDM network reviews health and special education records to identify school-aged children with autism. Data collected using this method can help explain if certain groups are more likely to be identified with autism than others. The project was initially funded for 1 year to encourage a timely response to community concerns. However, the State of Minnesota did not have an existing autism monitoring system in place, so an infrastructure for autism monitoring needed to be built, which took 8 months. Because building the infrastructure took so much time and resulted in delays, a 1-year cost extension to complete the autism monitoring activities was requested and approved. An important component of the project has been community engagement, including establishing a community advisory board, hiring Somali community facilitators, hiring a Somali leadership liaison, and conducting outreach through community resources and meetings as well as through immigrant media sources. In addition, after hearing the community''s concerns about disparities, additional research questions were added that will address potential differences in the level of functioning and service delivery between Somali and non-Somali children. CDC, NIH, and Autism Speaks have monitored the University of Minnesota''s efforts throughout the project to ensure adherence to the CDC methodology. The next step plans were to finish the data collection and review and prepare the data for analysis. A communications workgroup was established to prepare a community report that summarizes the findings in an understandable and useful way. Not only will this project help understand how often autism occurs in Somali and non-Somali children in Minneapolis, but results could also promote awareness of autism, help plan and coordinate service delivery, and inform future research and advocacy efforts.
In response to concerns about the number of Somali children with autism living in Minneapolis, the CDC, NIH, and Autism Speaks funded the University of Minnesota through a competitive announcement from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) to estimate the number of children with autism living in Minneapolis and to examine whether autism is more common among Somali children than non-Somali children. The adopted study methods were developed by the CDC and are used by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network. The ADDM network reviews health and special education records to identify school-aged children with autism. Data collected using this method can help explain if certain groups are more likely to be identified with autism than others. The project was initially funded for 1 year to encourage a timely response to community concerns. However, the State of Minnesota did not have an existing autism monitoring system in place, so an infrastructure for autism monitoring needed to be built, which took 8 months. Because building the infrastructure took so much time and resulted in delays, a 1-year cost extension to complete the autism monitoring activities was requested and approved.
An important component of the project has been community engagement, including establishing a community advisory board, hiring Somali community facilitators, hiring a Somali leadership liaison, and conducting outreach through community resources and meetings as well as through immigrant media sources. In addition, after hearing the community''s concerns about disparities, additional research questions were added that will address potential differences in the level of functioning and service delivery between Somali and non-Somali children. CDC, NIH, and Autism Speaks have monitored the University of Minnesota''s efforts throughout the project to ensure adherence to the CDC methodology. The next step plans were to finish the data collection and review and prepare the data for analysis. A communications workgroup was established to prepare a community report that summarizes the findings in an understandable and useful way.
Not only will this project help understand how often autism occurs in Somali and non-Somali children in Minneapolis, but results could also promote awareness of autism, help plan and coordinate service delivery, and inform future research and advocacy efforts.
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Developing Clinical Vocabulary Standards for Public Health Reporting
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Resource Development
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CDC
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NLM
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This collaboration between NLM and CDC is to develop Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) codes for use in public health reporting, including tumor registry reporting, and reportable disease reporting.
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Development and Use of a Non-human Primate Model of Pertussis Diseases and Transmission
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Research Initiative
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FDA
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NIAID
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NIH has been working with the FDA toward development and use of a non-human primate model of pertussis disease and transmission.
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Development of a High Throughput Quantitative PCR Assay to Detect Neutralizing Antibody to Human Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
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Research Initiative
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FDA
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NIAID
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Improvements in neutralization assays, in terms of standardization and throughput potential, for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) would facilitate the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics and enhance the ability to perform large-scale seroepidemiological studies. FDA developed a qPCR based assay which considerably shortens the testing time and increases the output compared to the standard neutralization assays. Because a standardized assay for measuring neutralization would have an impact on regulatory decisions, research conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can have significant impact on establishing guidelines and standards that can be used by the outside community during product development.
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Development of Chemical Emergency Medical Management Website
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Resource Development
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OS
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NICHD, NEI, NIA, NIDA, NINDS
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This website''s development is under the auspices of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Specialized Information Services Division. Additional funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (HHS). NICHD staff is detailed to assist the NLM in the website''s development with primary responsibility for the creation of the medical management guidelines component.
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Development of Filovirus BSL-D Neutralization and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Tests for Licensing of Vaccines and Immunoglobulin Preparations
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Research Initiative
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FDA
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NIAID
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NIH has been working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop standardized BSL2 neutralization and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests to evaluate nonhuman primate immune responses to filoviruses. These standardized tests can be used by all filovirus vaccine developers to assess these surrogate markers for vaccine efficacy in preclinical studies and for studies performed to obtain FDA licensure of a vaccine under the Animal Rule.
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Development of Live Biotherapeutics Workshop
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Meeting/ Workshop
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FDA
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NIAID, NCI
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Workshop participants will discuss the regulatory pathway for live biotherapeutics constituted of live microorganisms (such as bacteria or yeast) that may be naturally occurring, recombinant, or clonally selected; are applicable to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or human condition; and are not an immunogen-specific vaccine.
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Development of the HHS Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions about Research Proposals with the Potential for Generating Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Viruses that are Transmissible among Mammals by Respiratory Droplets
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Committee, Work group, Advisory group, or Task Force
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CDC, FDA, OS
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OD/OSP, NIAID
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Development of HHS policy regarding the funding of research with the potential for generating HPAI H5N1 viruses that are transmissible among mammals by respiratory droplets.
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DHHS Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Interagency Working Group
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Committee, Work group, Advisory group, or Task Force
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OS
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CC
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This committee is charged with developing strategies to improve the fraction of healthcare professionals who are vaccinated with the influenza vaccine.
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DHHS Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC)
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Committee, Work group, Advisory group, or Task Force
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OS
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CC
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This committee serves as the major policy advisory committee in the nation for healthcare epidemiology.
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