UB, Center for Discovery partner to advance critical research of autism and other complex conditions

UB has partnered with The Center for Discovery (TCFD), a leading provider of medical and clinical care, and education services for people with complex developmental disabilities, to advance critical research in autism and other complex conditions.

The pioneering collaboration between the UB Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences (CIGBS) and TCFD, a New York State Center of Excellence, will support the growth of translational research and innovation, drawing on TCFD’s comprehensive, longitudinal database and new programs.

The partnership will also focus on educating students, professionals and parents through hands-on lectures and virtual teaching; global outreach and engagement to forge collaborations through the SUNY Global Health Institute with leading universities and medical institutions around the world; development of practices and technologies for healthy living across the broad spectrum of complex conditions; and establishment of new models of care that support interpersonal treatment and successful outcomes for New York State and beyond.

“The combination of programs offered by our two centers gives us a major advantage over other known clinical research settings,” says Theresa Hamlin, associate executive director at TCFD.

“We have unprecedented individualized data on treatments, responses to interventions, as well as new technologies that will lead to innovations and breakthroughs in complex care,” Hamlin says. “The opening of our new Children’s Specialty Hospital in 2020, which will include The Research Institute for Brain and Body Health, further positions us to do the kind of research that will truly change lives.”

Adds Gene Morse, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, CIGBS director and co-director of the SUNY Global Health Institute: “We are confident that there is enormous promise for this collaboration to develop innovative clinical and translational research approaches that utilize health information technology to accelerate the evaluation of biomarkers, drug development and nutritional strategies.”

Morse also envisions synergy with the Drug Development Core at UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which will support the growing network of UB, SUNY and TCFD researchers focused on autism, cannabinoid sciences research and human genomics. The partnership includes a collaboration to examine new treatments for drug-resistant epilepsies between TCFD investigators and Jeffrey Lombardo, research assistant professor in the UB pharmacy school and CIGBS project director for global cannabinoid sciences and health information technology for patient safety.

“Collaborations like this one are vital as we search for breakthroughs to help all those living with complex conditions,” says Patrick H. Dollard, president and CEO of TCFD. “We need the thought leaders of many different disciplines to come together so we can achieve our common goal. The UB Center for Integrated Global Biomedical Sciences is the perfect partner for us.”

The collaboration is effective immediately and will be led by Hamlin and Morse.