The SIDB recently held it’s Annual Research Retreat. This included a two-day programme of presentations, discussion and interactive dialogue, which took place from 12-13 September 2019 in Edinburgh.

The event brought together around 150 VIP guests, autism academics and PhD students to present some of their most recent work in the field of autism and to discuss future development and research plans. It also provided a valuable networking opportunity and set the stage for further collaboration between academics working in the field of autism.

The conference began with a welcome and opening remarks by our SIDB Directors (Professors Peter Kind and Adrian Bird), and continued with presentations from SIDB members on their current and most exciting findings. There were a total of 20 oral presentations and 34 poster presentations made across the two-days of the conference. Keynote presentations were given by Professors Matt Jones (University of Bristol), Ype Elgersma (Erasmus MC) and Erin Schuman (Max Planck Institute for Brain Research). Conference participants were invited to attend a conference social following the first day of conference proceedings. Approximately 80 delegates attended the dinner which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Our VIPs included guests from our funder, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), international members of our External Advisory Board and colleagues from McGill University, Canada. All were complementary of the progress SIDB academics had made in their research since the 2018 meeting and the interactive nature of SIDB as a centre.