David G. Amaral

Dr. Amaral is a founding member of the M.I.N.D. Institute at UC Davis is dedicated to understanding the biological bases of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, with the goal of developing preventative measures and innovative treatments. He coordinates a comprehensive and multidisciplinary analysis of children with autism (Autism Phenome Project) to define biomedical characteristics of different types of autism. This project has evolved into a recently NIH-funded Autism Center of Excellence.

Dr. Amaral received his BS from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in Neuroscience and Psychology. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University. He then spent 13 years at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla California before moving to UC Davis.