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Well Said: Detecting early markers for autism

On this week’s episode of Well Said, assistant professor Mark Shen tells us why he’s on a mission to discover biological markers for autism.

Mark Shen.On average, children are diagnosed with autism between 4 and 6 years old, but assistant professor of psychiatry Mark Shen says that’s too late.

“The earlier you detect it, the earlier you can intervene and start treatment,” said Shen, who is also a researcher at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities.

He’s seen those implications firsthand having spent six years training in behavioral treatment for children and adults with autism before returning to graduate school. Now, he’s on a mission to identify the signs of autism in the first year of life.

On this week’s episode, Shen shares what clues he’s been able to find and explains why they’re so important.

Listen to this episode on SoundCloud or wherever you get podcasts

Read a transcript of the episode

Join us every Wednesday for Well Said to hear from students, faculty, staff and alumni. Each week, you’ll learn what’s going on in classrooms, labs and around campus, and how it pertains to the local, national and international headlines.