Origins / About

I was recently guiding a group of grade school kids on a tour of some labs at the university where I work. While visiting an archaeology lab, one of the archaeologists showed the kids a lovely purple glass bottle from the 19th century, which was dug up somewhere in upstate New York. She explained that it once contained a hair loss remedy for women, and that such elixirs, potions and wonder cures for all kinds of maladies were not uncommon at the time. Overstated claims that now appear humorous often accompanied such products, but they sold anyway largely because of our limited understanding about human biology at the time.

As a father of a child who was recently diagnosed with autism, I couldn’t help but think about how familiar this scenario is in the world of biomedical treatments for autistic children here in the 21st century. Although the causes of autism are still poorly defined, there is no shortage of people who are eager to fill that void of knowledge by offering a plethora of treatments based on speculation which are often marketed by testimonials that resonate across social networks.

While some good information does get disseminated in this way, the nature of this approach doesn’t lend itself well to the nuances of rigorous studies, experimental data and real evidence. This is where I would like to help fill the aforementioned void of knowledge.

Before I had a child with autism, I was a kid who loved biology and chemistry so much that went on earn a PhD in biochemistry at Arizona State University. I worked for more than a decade in research on protein structure, protein function and virology, and then had a brief stint working in public health. Currently, I work on the bigger scope of research as a research development specialist at a public university. Along the way, I’ve dabbled in data illustration and science writing, and you can see some of my work along those lines on my web page here. It also so happens that my wife is a certified BCBA with more than 15 years of experience working with autistic kids.

I hope to draw from this experience as I learn more about autism and the research surrounding its causes and treatments, and create some visualizations that are more accessible to the general public than the standard journal publication. And with all due respect to the many advocates, organizations and parents of autistic children out there who are sharing experience and knowledge, and sincerely trying to make sense of it all, I hope the content I produce will add a data-driven perspective that seems to be lacking.

Thank you for reading, and your comments and feedback are always welcome.