ASEF-PSOM/PASEF Luncheon

 Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Genetic Basis, Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Maja Bucan

The past decade has brought advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These devastating disorders affect approximately 1:68 infants born in the United States each year. One key finding is that in the majority of cases of ASD, individuals do not harbor a defect in a single gene, but instead have many genetic defects in neural development in general. Dr. Bucan's laboratory focuses on the essential genes in autism, and how testing in both mice and humans reveals genetic variation.

Dr. Maja Bucan is a Professor of Genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine. She earned her PhD from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and conducted postdoctoral research in both London and Philadelphia. She joined the Department of Psychiatry in 1990, and the Department of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002.

Dr. Bucan's lecture is sponsored by the ASEF-PSOM/PASEF Program Committee.