Events & ACE Photos

May 2024: SPARK Webinar Eyes Wide Open - Harnessing Eye Tracking for Advancements in Autism Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment Progress

April 2024: 6th Annual Lights! Camera! Autism! Event at Comic Con Museum in Balboa Park with Autism Society San Diego

April 2024: NFAR Race for Autism in Balboa Park, San Diego

March 2024: Autism Social & Mental Health Conference with Autism Society San Diego

Lunch & Learn Webinar Event: Thursday September 14th, 2023 from 12:00-12:30pm.

Dr. Pierce, Professor of Neurosciences and Co-Director of UCSD's Autism Center of Excellence reviews how children and adults with autism and their families can access genetic and clinical testing, at no cost, through SPARK – the largest autism genetics study in the world! Other benefits of participation in SPARK, and a brief overview of new autism-relevant genes are also discussed.

Live Webinar Event: Thursday March 10th, 2022 from 4:00-4:30pm.

The UCSD Autism Center of Excellence is collaborating with the Autism Society of San Diego in a live webinar!

Learn about the newest autism research studies at UCSD from Dr. Karen Pierce, Co-Director and Professor of Neurosciences. Dr. Pierce will describe opportunities to receive genetic and clinical testing at no cost. Also joining us is Shirley Fett from the Autism Society! Shirley is a family nurse practitioner, a pediatric mental health specialist, and a mother of two adult ASD sons. She will be covering sleep disturbances in autism and strategies that may help.

Summer Snow Cone Social!

We invite the autism community to our Snow Cone Social, held Saturday, August 28th from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Autism Center of Excellence.

Families are invited to be a part of the SPARK study. At the event, families will provide a small saliva sample from individual with ASD and both parents. Our staff can help families register, collect samples, and provide childcare at the event.

Afterwards families can enjoy a day filled with fun games, activities, prizes, and a free snow cone or Dole Whip! We are just blocks away from the beach so we encourage families to make a day out of it!

NFAR 2021: 2021 Race for Autism SUPERHERO Challenge!

Welcome to this years NFAR 2021 event from April 1st- April 10th! We are so excited to show Voices of Opportunity by Dr. Karen Pierce, Co-Director of the Autism Center of Excellence. During the video, Dr. Pierce shares the latest autism research opportunities from our Center!

NFAR Virtual Resource Fair: April 16th - April 30th

The UCSD Autism Center of Excellence is a proud member of SPARK's national clinical site network. SPARK stands for 'Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research,' and the mission is simple: we want to speed up research and advance our understanding of autism to help improve lives.

Our aim is to collect DNA through saliva collection and information through surveys from 50,000 people with autism and both of their parents nationwide. Data collected by the project will be de-identified and shared with qualified researchers who together will make breakthroughs that were never before possible.

To date over 2,000 families that have a child with autism in San Diego have joined. For more information on how to join SPARK reach out to your local clinical site at UCSD. The best way to reach us is via phone at 858-761-4734 or via email at earzate@health.ucsd.edu.

Live Webinar Event: Thursday Sept. 24, 2020 at 12-12:30pm

Dr. Karen Pierce, Professor of Neurosciences and Co-Director of the UCSD ACE, will be hosting a webinar on Thursday Sept. 24th at 12:00 to help generate excitement and engagement in the nation's largest genetic study of autism - "SPARK".

During the 30-minute webinar, Dr. Pierce will review the step-by-step process to sign up for SPARK, benefits (e.g., $50 gift card for families, free genetic counseling if a gene mutation is found), as well as a brief summary of the new genes that have been associated with autism.

To learn more, sign up for the webinar! Over 35,000 families nationwide have already signed up for SPARK, so join this important movement by signing up today!

2019 Believe Benefit Concert: Musicians for Autism

Come see exceptionally talented San Diego musicians perform in the 2019 Believe Benefit Concert, "Musicians for Autism," in support of the UC San Diego Autism Center for Excellence (ACE). Proceeds and donations from the concert will support the Center as we continue our efforts as an international leader in research, clinical discoveries, advancements to help children with autism achieve their full potential.

The Musicians for Autism concert will be on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 10 a.m. at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center on 7600 Fay Avenue in La Jolla.

The concert will showcase musicians who have won local, national and international awards and recognition. One young violinist will be performing at Carnegie Hall next year. The works of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Paganini, Saint Saens and many others will be performed. Performances will include chamber group and solo performances by several musicians from the San Diego Youth Symphony:

Archimedes Li, Ovation, 1^st violin Assistant Principal
Ivan Li, Ovation, 1^st violin
Elliott Park, Ovation, 1^st violin
Lea Parseghian, Ovation, 2^nd violin Assistant Principal
Dasha Zerboni, Ovation, 2^nd violin
Darren Jiang, Ovation cello, Assistant Principal
Ellie Lee, Sinfonia, 1^st violin Concertmaster
Caden Jiang, 1^st violin, Assistant Principal

The public is welcome! Make reservations and donations at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/musicians-for-autism-2019-believe-benefit-concert-for-ucsd-ace-tickets-63119487085

Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

Email: info-ace@ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-534-6906

SPARK National Meeting, June 2019

Dr. Courchesne's Birthday Luncheon, April 2019

NFAR Race For Autism, April 2019

Parent Appreciation Day, October 2018

'Believe' Fundraising Concert, June 2018

SPARK Day, April 2018

UCSD Public Health Day, April 2018

Christie Pham presenting on "Differences in Developmental Screening across Ethnic and Racial Groups"

Emily Yuen presenting on "Factors Influencing Pediatrician Referral Rates for Developmental Evaluations"

ACE Team circa 2011