Title: Modeling Autism in the Mouse

(Research Advisor: Dr. Jessica Nadler,  Biology Sponsor: Dr. Jason Lieb)

Ryan P. Barbaro

In order to further the understanding of autism, we are researching the link between autistic-like behavior in mice and their genes.  We analyze mouse behavior with three tests to see how closely the mouse's behavior resembles autistic behavior.  Then we compare all the genes from all the mice to see which genes are differentially active in mice that behave autistically.  The differentially active genes will be some of the genes that make it more likely for a mouse to develop autistic-like behavior.   Hopefully, analogous genes in humans will be related to the occurrence of autism in people