Conference
Register for the 2025 PARC Conference
The PARC Annual Conference provides an opportunity for our community to celebrate the scientific advances being made by our PARC faculty and students. Events typically include symposia, social activities, and an engaging student poster showcase (with prizes!).
As part of this celebration, PARC invites leading visionaries in the field of autism to provide both a scientific and community-focused keynote speeches.
The 2025 Purdue Autism Research Conference will be held on Friday April 4th, from 8am-6pm at the Purdue Memorial Union – East & West Faculty Lounge. Register for the conference here. Poster submissions can be submitted here (due 3/25/25; 11:59pm). Poster previously presented in other conferences are welcome.
This day-long conference will feature keynote addresses from Drs. Zachary Warren (Vanderbilt University) and Judy S. Li (Brown University), three faculty research symposia, a catered lunch, and poster session and reception. This exciting event will feature cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research from leading scholars in the field on autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.
8:00am: Registration & Breakfast
8:45-9:00am: Welcoming Remarks – Drs. Brandon Keehn and AJ Schwichtenberg
9:00-10:00am: Keynote Address #1
Dr. Judy S. Liu, MD, Ph.D.
Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Professor of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience, Brown University
Talk Title: Epigenetics in Epilepsy and Autism
10:00-10:15am: Break
10:15-11:15am: Symposium #1
Symposium Title:Basic Research in Autism and Seizure Comorbidities
Hee Jung Chung, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Mechanisms underlying KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy and associated ASD
Richard Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Northwestern Medicine
Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment
Talk Title: Prenatal profiling and RNA therapeutics of a K+ channel associated neurodevelopment disorder
Gemma Carvill, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Neurology, Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Northwestern Medicine
Talk Title: TBD
11:15am-12:30pm: On-Site Lunch
12:30-1:30pm: Keynote Address #2
Dr. Zachary Warren, Ph.D.
Professor, Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University
Executive Director, Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Talk Title: Improving systems of care for autistic youth: Redefining early identification and action
1:30-1:45pm: Break
1:45-2:45pm: Symposium #2
Symposium Title: Collaboration in Autism Support Approaches
Lisa Ruble, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, HSPP
Professor, Department of Special Education, Ball State University
Earl F. Smith Distinguished Professor in Special Education and Autism
Director, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD)
Talk Title: Enhancing IEP Success: Strengthening Caregiver-Teacher Collaboration with COMPASS
Dr. Andrea Ford, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati
Talk Title: Identifying Essential Communication Support Strategies for Autistic Preschoolers Though An Expert Panel
Jeanne Kramer, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Director of the Autism Program (TAP) at UIUC
Director of the Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative (INI)
Department of Human Development & Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Talk Title: Supporting the academic, social, and employment goals of autistic college students: Real life experiences from the Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative
2:45-3:00pm: Break
3:00-4:00pm: Symposium #3
Symposium Title: Advancing Autism Health Services Across Cultures / Beyond Borders
Ann Marie Martin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Clinical Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine
Talk Title: EAE Hub-Spanish: Outcomes from a PCP training for the evaluation of autism in Latine toddlers
Manasa Swaminathan, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate, Clinical Psycholgy, University of Indianapolis
Talk Title: Neurodevelopment Beyond Borders: Understanding Autism within Indian Communities in India and the United States
Brandon Keehn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
Talk Title: Expanding autism biomarkers to low- and middle-income countries
4:15-6pm: Poster Session & Reception
Poster and Travel Award Announcements
Parking: Grant St. Garage
120 Grant St, West Lafayette, IN 47906
Located directly across the street from the Memorial Union. Self park daily maximum: $10/day
Lost ticket fee: $50
Question about an event?
Please send an e-mail to PARCAwards@purdue.edu.