MIT Names New Autism Spectrum Research Center After Bryn Mawr Couple

Lisa Yang of Bryn Mawr and her husband Hock Tan, both Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni, have donated $20 million to the prestigious school's McGovern Institute to help bolster research into the autism spectrum, MIT announced.

"The Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research will support research on the genetic, biological and neural bases of autism spectrum disorders, a developmental disability estimated to affect 1 in 68 individuals in the United States," the school said in a statement. "Tan and Yang hope their initial investment will stimulate additional support and help foster collaborative research efforts to erase the devastating effects of this disorder on individuals, their families and the broader autism community."

The center will look specifically at genetics, neural circuits, novel autism models, and the translation of basic research to clinical settings, MIT said.

Tan-Yang Center aims to develop methods to better detect and potentially prevent autism spectrum disorders entirely.

“Millions of families have been impacted by autism,” Yang said in a statement. “I am profoundly hopeful that the discoveries made at the Tan-Yang Center will have a long-term impact on the field of autism research and will provide fresh answers and potential new treatments for individuals affected by this disorder.”

In the fight to prevent autism spectrum disorders, the center will support collaborations across multiple disciplines within MIT and with outside entities.

“I am thrilled to be investing in an institution that values a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to solving complex problems such as autism,” says Hock Tan, MIT class of 1975. “We expect that successful research originating from our Center will have a significant impact on the autism community.”

Tan and Yang hope their initial investment will stimulate additional support and help foster collaborative research efforts to erase the devastating effects of this disorder on individuals, their families and the broader autism community, MIT said.

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