In May 2012, two members of the GEL lab jetted across the Atlantic to Toronto, Canada to attend the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR).
Now in its twelfth year, IMFAR is organised by the International Society for Autism Research, and brings together autism researchers from a variety of backgrounds. Mark Taylor and Aline Scherff both attended the conference. Mark gave a talk about developmental associations between traits of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Aline Scherff presented a poster about the genetic and environmental overlap between specific autistic traits and internalising behaviours.
The conference was a valuable opportunity to learn about developments in the fast moving field of autism research.
Members of the GEL lab headed to Scotland in June 2012 to present at the Behavior Genetics Association conference in Edinburgh, which brings together behavioural geneticists from across the globe.
Three members of the GEL team presented their recent research at the conference. PhD students Mark Taylor and Aline Scherff both presented new findings from their PhD research on comorbidity in autism. Mark spoke about nonshared environmental influences on the co-occurrence of traits of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Aline presented a poster on the nonshared environmental influences on the co-occurrence of autistic and internalising traits. The GEL lab director, Dr Angelica Ronald, presented some preliminary findings from the new Longitudinal Experiences and Perceptions (LEAP) project regarding the genetic and environmental causes of psychotic experiences in adolescence. She also acted as discussant on a symposium on autism and ADHD comorbidity which was organised by one of the GEL lab external collaborators, Dr Rosa Hoekstra.