Autism BrainNet announces the recipients of the 2022 Autism BrainNet Appreciation Award, an initiative that recognizes outstanding partners and collaborators for their dedication to advancing brain tissue research in autism.

Autism BrainNet has partnered with the New York Genome Center to genetically characterize all the brain tissue donated by people with autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions. These data will be made available to approved researchers worldwide to conduct studies that can help better understand the biological basis of autism.

We recently spoke with Annie Scheumbauer, mother of donor Bridget M. McCallister. Annie recounts Bridget’s life, her passions and challenges, and what led her family to make the decision to support autism research through the gift of brain donation.