New York, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Autism Science Foundation (ASF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and funding innovative autism research, today announced that Alison Singer, Co-Founder and President of ASF, will receive an honorary degree from Emory University. The degree will be conferred at Emory’s 175th Commencement, scheduled for Monday, May 11.
The mother of an adult daughter with autism, Singer founded ASF in 2009. She has served on the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) since 2007 and also serves on the executive boards of the Marcus Autism Center at Emory, the Yale Child Study Center, the executive board of the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine and the executive board of the Autism Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also serves on the external advisory board of the CDC’s Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and on the board of directors of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics named her an “autism champion.” In 2017 she received the INSAR “Outstanding Research Advocate” award and in 2018 she received the New York Families for Autistic Children Research Advocacy Award.
Prior to founding ASF, Singer served as executive vice president of Autism Speaks and as a vice president at NBC. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2018 she was elected to serve on the Board of Education of the Scarsdale Union Free Public School district.
Singer will be one of three honorary degree recipients at the ceremony. Acclaimed human rights lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson and Nobel Prize-winning virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi will also be honored for their contributions to their respective fields.
“I am incredibly honored to be selected for an honorary degree from Emory, an institution that does so much to support the autism community,” said Singer. “The Marcus Autism Center is a model of the values ASF seeks to promote, conducting cutting-edge research that will transform the lives of people with autism as well as offering evidence-based treatments and vital support to individuals and families affected by autism. To be recognized alongside the other outstanding honorees is humbling and gratifying and speaks to the importance of our mission.”
About the Autism Science Foundation
The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) is a 501(c) (3) public charity. Its mission is to support autism research by providing funding to scientists and organizations conducting autism research. ASF also provides information about autism to the general public and serves to increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders and the needs of individuals and families affected by autism. To learn more about the Autism Science Foundation or to make a donation visit www.autismsciencefoundation.org.