-- MEDIA ADVISORY --
PREGNANT MOTHERS JOIN SEARCH FOR CAUSES OF AUTISM

Pregnant women and new mothers who already have one child with autism will join UC Davis researchers and officials from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as they announce funding of $7.5 million for UC Davis  autism research. Part of the funding will go to a new autism study called MARBLES (Markers of Autism Risk in Babies-Learning Early Signs), which begins the search for causes and early markers for the disorder during pregnancy.

• A participant in the pilot phase of MARBLES will talk about why she became involved in the study.
  
  
• Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an expert on how environmental chemicals affect child development and MARBLES principal investigator, will share her inspiration for launching the study, insights from the pilot phase of the study, various assessments involved and expected outcomes.
  
  
• Isaac Pessah, a molecular bioscientist and director of the UC Davis Center for Children's Environmental Health, which sponsors MARBLES, will talk about the center's commitment to research that aims to discover the connections between environmental toxins and the onset of autism.
  
  
• Wayne Nastri, regional administrator for U.S. EPA Region 9, and Cindy Lawler, health science administrator for the NIEHS, will discuss their ongoing funding for and collaboration with the center on unique autism research.

Opportunities will be offered to photograph UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute laboratories involved in using microarray technology to examine the gene expression profiles of study participants. B-roll can be provided of in-home MARBLES assessments, including a blood draw and environmental sample collection, along with the immunological testing processes conducted in a UC Davis laboratory.