Banner art by Josephine, age 7
for the 2025 Holiday Art Contest
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Dear friends of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development,
I’m excited to introduce myself to you as the new director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. As interim director over the past two years, my goal has been to build on the strong foundation and legacy created by Dr. Geraldine Dawson, who came to Duke in 2013 to establish the center. During Dr. Dawson’s 11-year tenure as director, the center drove significant advances in the autism field through research, clinical services, advocacy, training, and community partnerships, leading to its designation as an Autism Center of Excellence by the National Institutes of Health.
I have been at Duke since 2007, when I came to complete my psychiatry residency training, child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, and Duke’s Global Health Psychiatry Pathway fellowship. I joined the Duke faculty in 2014, and have been part of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development since it was founded by Dr. Dawson.
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist and implementation scientist, my research focuses on understanding early childhood development, including autism and late talking, and on developing and implementing approaches that improve early identification and care. I have led and co-led behavioral and medical clinical trials and conduct research using artificial intelligence and electronic health records to improve early identification and better understand developmental trajectories.
In my work with autistic individuals and families, I have seen firsthand how much we learn when we listen. Some of the most meaningful advances in autism care and research have come from partnering with people with lived experience. These perspectives have helped shape not only the questions we ask, but also how we deliver care and support patients and families. You can hear more of my perspective on autism research, care, and community in this episode of the Duke Clinical Research Institute’s podcast.
I look forward to continuing the valuable work and important mission of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. Thank you for your support and partnership in that mission.
Best,
Lauren Franz, MB ChB, MPH
Director, Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development
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Recognizing Disability Pride Month
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Every July, Disability Pride Month commemorates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990. The landmark law prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, government services, and telecommunications.
Duke University and Duke Health recognize and celebrate the roughly 1 in 4 U.S. adults living with a disability while reminding us to build more accessible, welcoming environments in our clinics this month and every month.
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What started as a small faculty meeting has grown into a global conversation with autism researchers, clinicians, advocates, and families around the world. The series continues this fall. More information is coming soon as our presenters are finalized.
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Congratulations to Dr. Jill Howard, Duke Autism Clinic director, on completing the Duke Clinical Leadership Program! As part of the program, she led an initiative to improve accessibility, efficiency, and the patient and family experience at the clinic.
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Dr. Caitlin Bullard was awarded the Karen C. Wells, PhD Professionalism Award as a 2025-2026 Duke clinical psychology doctoral intern. Dr. Bullard’s internship focused on autism, and she will continue working with the center as a provisional faculty member in Duke Psychiatry.
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As Duke researchers develop machine-learning technology to identify autism from patterns in electronic healthcare records, this study asks how the users of that technology – clinicians and caregivers – want the information presented. By incorporating feedback from both caregivers and clinicians, we can design these tools to provide clear, understandable information and practical guidance about next steps when developmental concerns are identified.
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Doctors often record concerns about a child's speech and language before assigning a formal diagnosis. In our study, only about half of children with documented concerns had a diagnosis recorded at that visit, and many received one later. This highlights that studies relying only on diagnosis codes may miss children with early documented concerns, highlighting the value of using clinical notes to better understand how speech-language delays are recognized over time.
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Duke child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Tara Chandrasekhar and Dr. Anish Dhamija, a psychiatrist and family medicine physician, discuss how community psychiatrists can better understand and support autistic adults in healthcare and their everyday lives.
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SAVE THE DATE for Duke Women’s Soccer vs. NC State – Oct. 24th, 2026!
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After enjoying a very special day with the Blue Devils Soccer teams this past April, we are thrilled to announce that Duke Women’s Soccer will be hosting a game this season dedicated to Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development!
The soccer program will once again offer a special discounted rate for our community. The first ticket will be FREE, and each additional ticket will be at a reduced price of $5. We will send an announcement in early September once the purchasing link is active.
DATE: Saturday, October 24th
TIME: 5:00 pm (gates open at 4:00 pm)
LOCATION: Koskinen Stadium on Duke University’s West Campus
We hope to see you there to cheer on the Blue Devils with us!
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We are looking for children ages 3-5 without developmental delays or diagnoses to join our study! The study explores how children learn, behave, and use their brains.
What's involved:
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- two in-person visits to our center
- one or two caregiver interviews (by phone or Zoom)
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© 2026 Duke University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.
Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development
2608 Erwin Rd, Ste 300, Durham, NC 27705
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