Dr. David G. Amaral is a preeminent authority in autism research and developmental neuroscience with a distinguished career spanning over three decades. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis, where he also holds the prestigious Beneto Foundation Chair. Dr. Amaral earned his BA from Northwestern University in 1968 and completed his PhD in Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Rochester in 1977, followed by postdoctoral training in Neuroanatomy at Washington University. Prior to joining UC Davis in 1991, he spent thirteen formative years as a researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, establishing his foundational expertise in neural systems and behavioral neuroscience.
Dr. Amaral has pioneered comprehensive approaches to understanding the biological bases of autism spectrum disorder through his leadership of the Autism Phenome Project, a multidisciplinary longitudinal study involving over 400 families that began in 2006. His neuroanatomical and neuroimaging research has significantly advanced our understanding of brain development in children with autism, particularly identifying patterns associated with having both autism and a larger brain size. As Director of Autism BrainNet, he has facilitated critical access to postmortem brain tissue for autism research through a collaborative initiative sponsored by the Simons Foundation, Autism Speaks, and the Autism Science Foundation. His work has catalyzed a paradigm shift toward defining clinically significant subtypes of autism through biomedical characteristics rather than behavioral symptoms alone.
Dr. Amaral has profoundly shaped the autism research landscape through his service as Editor-in-Chief of Autism Research from 2015 to 2023 and his appointment to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. His leadership at the MIND Institute has established it as one of the world's premier autism research centers, securing substantial funding and building a state-of-the-art facility that has attracted top researchers globally. Recognized with prestigious honors including the NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award and election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he continues to mentor the next generation of autism researchers. Dr. Amaral remains at the forefront of autism science, driving forward initiatives that integrate neurobiological, immunological, and behavioral approaches to develop more effective, personalized interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
