We partner with the best, the brightest, and the most open-minded.
N of One seeks to partner with the very best researchers in the world at leading institutions to sponsor and catalyze breakthrough research into the fundamentals of autism. We seek out researchers with a history of research excellence and and an open-minded approach to their research. We believe this mindset is important because, if the basis for autism were simple, we would have already found it by now.

 

We follow leads. 
The history of science is filled with serendipitous observations. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by observing that bacteria did not grow near moldy bread. As early as the 18th century babies with cystic fibrosis were said by mid-wives to “taste salty” an observation that preceded the discovery in 1988 that cystic fibrosis arises from gene defects in chloride channels. For a seemingly intractable condition, autism is filled with a surprising number of examples of parents observing that their child’s autism temporarily improves in response to a variety of things such as: fever, antibiotics, or any number of diets. While some parents use these as therapies, these observations form promising leads for researchers to leverage in order to reveal the fundamental mechanisms of autism.

 

We foster an interdisciplinary approach.
Autism is very complicated. At the moment, there is no medical sub-specialty for autism. Any number of medical specialists may see or conduct research in autism, but we know that autism is a multi-system disorder and no single medical specialty receives training in all the fields that autism touches. Further complicating the research picture, many of the specialties required to understand autism have historically had little reason to interact. To make major advances in autism research, an interdisciplinary approach is required. N of One emphasizes interdisciplinary, collaborative research looking at how various systems interact to develop a more complete picture of autism.