Welcome to the Newly Redesigned SFARI Gene

June 22, 2017

We are delighted to announce the launch of a redesigned version of SFARI Gene. The updated platform features a streamlined user interface, new data visualizations, improved search capability, and, most importantly, a continued commitment to the rigorous and thorough curation users have come to expect.

Current estimates suggest that variation in several hundred different genes could affect susceptibility to autism. SFARI and other funding agencies are supporting efforts to identify as many of these ?risk genes? as possible, with an eye toward understanding how mutations in these genes might affect brain development and result in the complex spectrum of behaviors that we collectively call ?autism.? Given the scale of the dataset involved, there is a real need in the field for a trusted, comprehensive, and dynamic database that catalogues all known information on these risk genes from the published literature and gives autism researchers immediate access to it.

Since 2008, SFARI Gene has done this by providing:

All of this information is carefully curated by the team at MindSpec, updated quarterly, and offered with extensive links to the primary literature and secondary databases.

Our goal in redesigning the site was to enhance the user experience, making it easier for investigators to navigate from module to module to find the information they want as quickly as possible. Along the way, we hope that this wealth of information will promote new hypotheses that can be tested in the lab.

New features of the site include:

The new navigation system and data visualizations are supported by advanced search capability, data download functionality, a glossary of frequently used terms, and an extensively rewritten user guide. This news page will also feature outlines of the quarterly updates to the database.

We are gratified that SFARI Gene is increasingly cited in the primary literature, and we hope the redesigned version of the site will continue to be useful to researchers studying the genetic underpinnings of autism. We look forward to your comments and feedback.

Submit New Gene

Report an Error