Washington: The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has launched SPECTRA, a major research program aimed at transforming how autism is understood, diagnosed and supported across the lifespan. The program was announced on September 17.

SPECTRA — Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency — will combine biological, clinical, behavioural and real-world data with advanced computational tools. It has four focus areas: analysing genetic, environmental, metabolic and developmental factors; AI platforms that model clinical trajectories; testing individualised interventions; and accessible assessment tools.

'Autism is not one-size-fits-all, and our science and care cannot be either,' said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. One in 31 eight-year-olds in the US has been identified with autism spectrum disorder, and annual autism-related costs were projected at about $461 billion by 2025.

The agency did not disclose the program's budget and will begin accepting research proposals next month. The effort follows the NIH's $50 million Autism Data Science Initiative announced last year.