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Margaret Souders: Advocacy Award

Margaret C. Souders, assistant professor of human genetics in Penn Nursing’s department of biobehavioral health sciences, received the Dr. Bertram A. Ruttenberg Award for her advocacy and service to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. Dr. Souders was given the award at The Center for Autism’s Awards Celebration and Fundraiser last month. She is also a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s department of child & adolescent psychiatry and biobehavioral health sciences.

Dr. Souders is interested in phylogenetics—specifically, the oldest genetic lines in our evolution—that play a role in circadian rhythms, and changes in these rhythms may put children at risk for autism spectrum disorder. Her expertise in sleep medicine and genetics allows Dr. Souders to create targeted interventions for children with autism. Researching the timing mechanisms that create and maintain sleep has given her greater insight into autism and other disorders. Early research on autism and schizophrenia grouped those conditions together, and she suggests the same type of genetic variant may be implicated in these problems and bipolar disorder.

The Center for Autism is the oldest specialized autism treatment center in the nation. Founded by Bertram A. Ruttenberg, the private, non-profit organization focuses on treating individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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