Student News
NISE Fellow Hari Srinivasan and FCAI Fellow Dr. Tyler Derr Win Vanderbilt University Impact Awards
Apr. 18, 2025—We want to Congratulate two members of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation family today, Dr. Tyler Derr and Hari Srinivasan. This week, Vanderbilt University acknowledged them with Impact Awards in the faculty and PhD student categories, respectively. Dr. Tyler Derr is a fellow of the Frist Center and an assistant professor of computer...
Media Covers $7 Million in Canceled Grants to FCAI
Mar. 13, 2025—Due to funding cuts to the National Science Foundation made after the executive orders in the last several weeks, FCAI has lost $7 million in expected federal grant funding, and along with it some of our cornerstone programs for national impact. The $7 million in funding had been rigorously reviewed by NSF and was authorized...
Applications Open for Autism Summer Internship Opportunities for Summer 2025! Apply now!
Jan. 15, 2025—The Frist Center is excited to announce applications are now open for our Autism Summer Internship Program. The program is open to undergraduate students who identify as neurodiverse (either through formal or self-diagnosis). Through this internship, successful applicants will undergo a STEM project with a faculty mentor, under the guidance of the Frist Center for...
FCAI Program and Communications Coordinator Launches Non-Profit at the Intersection of Neurodiversity and Space Science: The Neuroverse Initiative
Oct. 2, 2024—We are thrilled to share that our Program and Communications manager, Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, launched her non-profit, The Neuroverse Initiative (TNI), last week. This unique initiative operates at the intersection of space science and neurodiversity, with a mission to support neurodivergent space scientists in training, research, and advocacy. The mission statement of the new non-profit reads:...
NISE Fellow Hari Srinivasan Wins Research Award
Jul. 11, 2024—FCAI Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Hari Srinivasan has been awarded the 2024 Autistic and Neurodivergent Scholars Working for Equity in Research (ANSWER) Scholars Program Award for his project “Navigating the Near: Virtual Reality Investigations of Peripersonal Space in Autism.” Srinivasan will receive a $10,000 award next academic year to work toward this research....
NISE Fellow, FCAI Fellow, and Associate Director Author Paper on Recruiting and Retaining Autistic Talent in STEMM
Jun. 13, 2024—Check out the groundbreaking commentary “Recruiting and Retaining Autistic Talent in STEMM” by Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Amber Crabtree, with collaboration from FCAI fellow AJ Hinton and FCAI Associate Director Dave Caudel. Published in iScience, the article addresses the high unemployment rates and challenges autistic adults face in science, technology, engineering, math, and...
FCAI NISE Fellow Receives Fisk-Vanderbilt Postdoctoral Fellow Position
Jun. 13, 2024—With great pride, we announce the selection of graduate student and FCAI NISE Fellow Amber Crabtreeas the recipient of the prestigious Fisk-Vanderbilt postdoctoral fellowship. This achievement is a testament to Amber’s hard work and the guidance she has received from her mentors, including FCAI Fellow AJ Hinton in the lab of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics....
NISE Fellow Hari Srinivasan Appears on AMBIV Collective Panel; Recording Available
Jun. 4, 2024—Last Wednesday, 29th May, NISE Fellow and self-advocate Hari Srinivasan appeared on an AMBIV panel entitled AANHPI Autism Self-Advocacy Panel. The recording of the webinar is at this link, or watch below. The webinar featured an empowering online panel that showcased autistic Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) self-advocates as they shared their...
FCAI Program and Communications Manager Speaking at SciAccess 2024; FCAI, Disability Research, and Upcoming Non-Profit
May. 6, 2024—On May 10-11th, 2024, we are thrilled to announce that FCAI Program and Communications Manager Jessica Schonhut-Stasik will deliver multiple talks at the free, virtual SciAccess conference. Jessica, along with an array of incredible speakers at the intersection of disability and STEM, will provide three unique talks outlined below. Registration is free and available at the...
FCAI NISE Fellow Wins NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Apr. 25, 2024—We are thrilled to announce that Hari Srinivasan, one of our Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellows at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his work in Neuroscience. The NSF GRFP is a tremendous achievement and a testament to Hari’s hard work,...