Research at the Patrick Wild Centre is multidisciplinary. We promote collaborations between experts in neuroscience, psychiatry, molecular medicine, and psychology. Together, we are working towards a better understanding of autism, Fragile X Syndrome and intellectual disabilities, from the neural level to cognitive abilities and lived experiences. By bringing new therapies to clinical trial, and by highlighting the unique skills and needs of people with autism, Fragile X Syndrome and intellectual disabilities, we will be able to providebetter support for them, their families, their clinical practitioners and their educators.
Our research is organised into two broad themes: fundamental and clinical, detailed below.
The fundamental research branch of the Patrick Wild Centre does purely biological research. It focuses on the basic and fundamental functioning of the brain of people with autism, fragile X syndrome and intellectual disabilities, from molecules, to cells, to circuits and networks of neurons, all the way to behaviours linked to these neural circuits. These research projects use cellular and animal models to better understand how brains are built, and how cells in the brain communicate with each other to create a behaviour. Our fundamental research is done in partneurship with the Simons Foundatiuon. To know more about our fundamental research, please visit our collaborative website, the Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain.
The clinical branch of the Patrick Wild Centre completes the work of the fundamental branch, and focuses on the behavioural and clinical profiles of people with autism, fragile X syndrome and intellectual disabilities. Our clinical research includes projects on their lived experiences, their behaviour and cognition (mental skills), their neurological profiles (the way their brain is shaped and is activated when dealing with information), as well as clinical trials and interventions.
Past and ongoing research projects can be found within the fundamental research page – focusing on molecular and neural networks research, and the clinical research page – focusing on therapeutic, cognitive, and qualitative research.
To take part in a current project, please visit the Join an ongoing study page.
If you are interested in helping us in our research, please visit the How can I help? and Support us pages.
