Former National Party Finance Minister Hon Steven Joyce is taking on his first public role since leaving Parliament and he’s getting behind a cause with a very personal connection. As the new patron of Minds for Minds Charitable Trust, an organisation dedicated to supporting research into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Mr Joyce is stepping into a familiar area. His eight-year old son Tommy has ASD and is exactly the sort of person the work of the Trust is focused on helping. “I know personally the big impact that ASD has on those…continue reading →

Our most recent newsletter including updates from our research, and news from our Charitable Trust. In this issue we celebrate the achievement of one of our PhD students, Whitney Whitford, who was awarded the School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Research award for a publication for which she was the lead author, supported by other Minds for Minds researchers as co-authors. We also report on a recent visit from Philippa James, an Audiologist for ASD at the University of Melbourne. She spoke about her current work in Melbourne and a collaborative effort between Melbourne and Auckland is…continue reading →

Our most recent newsletter including updates from our research, and news from our Charitable Trust. Minds for Minds had many publications, with more information here. We also are fortunate to announce additional funding that has been awarded to Minds for Minds via Health Research Council. This grant will enable Professor Johanna Montgomery and her team to investigate a dietary zinc link in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Subscribe here to be kept up to date with the news from Minds for Minds and Autism Spectrum Disorder research, or follow us on facebook or twitter for the most up to date news and event…continue reading →

We would like to invite you to participate in my research if you have never had a major head injury and are aged between 18 and 45. We are seeking research participants with and without an Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's) diagnosis to investigate the relationship between emotion processing, autistic traits and the brain responses to social information. Participation requires only 1 session at the Science Centre of the University of Auckland main campus and will require approximately 2 hours of your time. You will be asked to complete a computerized task followed…continue reading →

Jacobsen JC, Whitford W, Swan B, Taylor J, Love DR, Hill R, Molyneux S, George PM, Mackay R, Robertson SP, Snell RG, Lehnert K. Compound Heterozygous Inheritance of Mutations in Coenzyme Q8A Results in Autosomal Recessive Cerebellar Ataxia and Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency in a Female Sib-Pair. JIMD Rep,  (2017) Thanks to the collaborative effort with some of our stellar New Zealand clinicians, the genetics team recently published results of a family, registered on our database, which have two girls with ataxia (loss of co-ordination of gait). After identifying the genetic cause in the two girls…continue reading →

The Applied Behaviour Analysis Programme at the University of Auckland is holding a series of workshops as part of ABA awareness week. These workshops run 20th & 21st November and are: Family friendly approaches for improving feeding difficulties in children Making work or therapy fun Behavior Analyst Certification Board: Updates, Developments & Opportunities ABA info session: Student research examples and job opportunities For more information and to register, visit the Eventbrite page. The workshops have limited spaces so they may be full by the time you get to sharing, but they can always run…continue reading →

Our amazing lead researcher and founding member Jessie Jacobsen was featured in the latest issue of Ingenio, the University's official alumni magazine. Here she talks about her work with Minds for Minds working to understand the genetics behind ASD. Read the full article on Ingenio's websitecontinue reading →

Our most recent newsletter including updates from our research, and news from our Charitable Trust. Our most recent newsletter including updates from our research, and news from our Charitable Trust. For those that were unable to attend our research event in May we have released subtitled footage here. We also are fortunate to announce additional funding that has been awarded to Minds for Minds via The National Science Challenge fund. This grant will enable the research team to develop cost-effective protocols to genetically screen children with confirmed ASD, and transfer this approach into clinical practice…continue reading →

We had a fantastic time at the research update evening. Thank you to all that could come and the engagement from the audience. For those that were unable to attend, the evening was recorded and we have included the subtitled videos below. Student Presentations   Panel Discussioncontinue reading →

We have a new study opportunity! By measuring the electrical activity in the brain, this tells us information about how the brain is functioning, and this can be done with small electrodes in a cap (completely noninvasive). If you are interested, contact Stephen Wolfson for more information. [email protected] or (09)3737599 ext 86421  continue reading →