Maria Chahrour, Ph.D., University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, seeks to identify the normal function of a gene linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and mutations of that gene that can lead to neurodevelopmental illness. Dr. Chahrour will create a mouse model lacking the gene UBE3B, connected to ASD and intellectual disability, to see how the gene’s absence affects neuronal development and function. Her team further hopes to identify the proteins regulated by UBE3B, to identify a pathway of genetic mutations that lead to ASD and may hold the key to new treatments.