How much of Autism Speaks research budget is devoted to studying vaccines?
The amount of funding we are devoting to research that is relevant to vaccines is only a small percentage of our overall research budget, about 2%. The bulk of our $33 million in research funding in 2008 is focused on identification of a wide range of genetic and other environmental risk factors, biological mechanisms, diagnosis and early detection, and discovery of effective treatments. We also invest a substantial amount of funds in developing resources for scientific discovery, such as the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), the largest private genetic data base in the world, and the Autism Tissue Program, a brain tissue donation program dedicated to autism research, among others. Hundreds of scientists are currently using these resources to advance our knowledge about the causes and underlying biology of autism spectrum disorders. Is Autism Speaks the only major funding organization that is exploring a link between autism and vaccines? No. In fact, we are currently collaborati
