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Brotherly love, no matter what

Austin Ludwig, whose little brother has autism, is now helping researchers sequence genomes of 50,000 people with autism through an ambitious research project in collaboration with the UNC TEACCH Autism Program.

Austin Ludwig and Mason Ludwig play at a desk.

When Austin Ludwig was 11, he didn’t know what to make of his younger brother Mason. He didn’t know what to tell friends who wondered why Mason couldn’t talk at age 4.

Austin felt embarrassed, but the older he got and the more he learned about autism, the more he wanted to help people like his brother.

Throughout high school, Ludwig volunteered at facilities that assist people with autism, and then helped raise more than $2,000 for the North Carolina Autism Society as part of a senior project.

Now as a Carolina undergraduate, Ludwig is helping world-class researchers to sequence genomes of 50,000 people with autism through SPARK, an ambitious research project in collaboration with the UNC TEACCH Autism Program.

SPARK is founded on the idea that autism is a complex disease that involves many genes. If scientists can analyze the genomes of many people with autism and family members, then they might be able to eventually link specific genetic profiles to specific kinds of behaviors and symptoms. If that’s possible, then doctors such as those at the CIDD could begin to tailor interventions and treatments based on a person’s genetic profile.

“The more research, the more we know and the more we can gauge treatments and help everybody involved in the autism community,” Ludwig said.

Read more of this story at UNC Health Care.