High Support Summit in Autism Medicine and Research 2026 (AMRS) “From Neuroinflammation and Genetics to Implementable Care”
We invite oral and poster presentations to be presented at the Severe & High-Support Autism 2026 conference, a three-day gathering dedicated to the least studied segment of the spectrum: autistic individuals with high, often minimal or nonverbal support needs, with complex medical and neuropsychiatric comorbidities.
The conference focuses on mechanisms, measurement, and models of care for severe or profound autism, with a strong emphasis on neuroimmune and redox pathways, genetics and epigenetics, multiomics integration, environmental and exposome research, biomarker discovery, assay design for immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory therapies, pharmacoomics, and reliable AI and data standards. We especially welcome work that explicitly includes people with intellectual disabilities and complex communication needs, and that goes beyond purely behavioral or high-functioning samples.
At least one author of each accepted abstract must register and present on site. Communications from the following areas will be accepted:
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Communications from the following areas will be accepted:
- Neuroimmune, neuroinflammatory, mitochondrial and oxidative mechanisms
- Genetics, epigenetics and the porous boundary between “idiopathic” and rare forms
- Multi-omics (genome, epigenome, transcriptome, metabolome, microbiome) and deep phenotyping
- Environmental factors, maternal immune activation, and exposome approaches
- Biomarkers and endotypes with potential for clinical utility (risk stratification, prediction, monitoring)
- Immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory treatments (IVIG, steroids, target redox, adjunctive agents)
- Sleep, autonomic regulation, pain, sensory overload, and other serious medical factors
- AI/ML data standards, logs, and methods with clear validation and explainability
- Pharmacoomics, polypharmaceutical networks and long-term safety in high-support profiles
- Other / Other
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Submission of abstracts
Eligibility
- Abstracts should describe original work (research, audit, clinical series, methodology, digital health/AI tools, etc.).
- All proposals must meet ethical standards; if they involve human or clinical data, authors must confirm ethical approval or exemption where appropriate.
Language
- English
Word Limit
- Abstracts should describe original work (research, audit, clinical series, methodology, digital health/AI tools, etc.).
- Maximum 300 words, excluding the title and the list of authors.
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The works must be structured in:
- Background
- Methods
- Results
- Conclusions
- Preliminary data (are optional; e.g., “results or preliminary data, where applicable”)
- Keywords (3–5)
Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to specify:
- Inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities and/or minimal/non-verbal profiles
- Key design features (prospective/retrospective, sample size, controls)
- Effect sizes and measures of clinical utility (beyond p-values)
- Information on ethics, approval, and consent procedures
Authors
- Maximum 10 authors per submission (exceptions only for justified multicenter studies)
Number of submissions per author
- Up to 3 submissions as the main author/presenter.
- Co-authorship: allowed without a strict limit (within reasonable scientific practice).
Type of presentation
- Authors can indicate preference: Oral or Poster.
- The final allocation is decided by the Scientific Committee.
Review and Assignment
- Proposals will be evaluated for scope and minimum quality/format
- High-quality abstracts not selected for oral presentation will be reassigned to posters that could help manage expectations and authors will be notified.
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Important dates
- Deadline for submission of abstracts: September 1
- Notification of acceptance/assignment: October 1
- Final upload (poster PDF/oral slides if needed): October 22
- Any abstract sent by email will not be accepted; the only way to send it will be through our online system, by clicking on ‘Sendcommunications’
(This is a dedicated category, separate from standard abstracts.)
Beyond individual abstracts, the conference will host a Research Incubator Session, designed to identify and consolidate multicenter research opportunities in severe high-level or high-support autism.
We invite concise project concepts that seek:
- Create or expand multicenter cohorts or registries focused on high-support autistic individuals
- Clinical studies or trials based on design mechanisms (e.g., immunomodulatory therapies, redox-targeted interventions, biomarker-stratified designs)
- Develop or validate biomarkers and multi-omics signatures relevant to severe/profound autism
- Establish AI/ML platforms for risk prediction, endotype discovery, or clinical decision support, with explicit plans for validation, calibration, and fairness
- Create minimum data standards and datasets that enable cross-site harmonization and federated analytics
Shipping Channel
- Any abstract sent by email will not be accepted; the only way to send it will be through our online system, by clicking on ‘Send communications’
Purpose
- Short proposals for collaborative and high-potential research ideas to be discussed and refined during the meeting.
Team composition
- Recommended team size: 3–8 participants.
- A current team leader or contact must be identified.
Length and structure
- Maximum 500 words (excluding title/team list), plus optional 1 figure/table.
- Mandatory sections:
- Project Title
- Justification/unmet need
- Objectives (primary + secondary)
- Proposed methodology (design, population/data, endpoints)
- Feasibility (resources and partners needed)
- Expected impact (clinical/scientific)
- Team and affiliations
Important dates
- Submission deadline (recommended if you want to encourage submissions): September 15 Selected projects can be programmed for:
- Short pitch (5 minutes) + discussion, or
- Workshop/Incubator Session
This initiative does not provide direct funding, but aims to facilitate scientific coordination, refinement of study design, and future joint applications.
Evaluation criteria
Research Incubator Projects are evaluated exclusively by the Scientific Committee. Projects are evaluated based on scientific relevance, methodological quality, feasibility, potential for multicenter collaboration, and expected clinical or translational impact. The members of the Scientific Committee directly involved in a submitted project will not participate in its evaluation or vote. Selected projects will be invited to be presented and discussed during the Research Incubator session on Friday afternoon.
The format will prioritize:
- Scientific relevance and novelty
- Viability within 12–24 months
- Potential for multi-center collaboration/scalability
- Expected impact (patients, clinical practice, research results)
The goal of the Incubator is not competition, but coordination: aligning overlapping initiatives, avoiding fragmentation, and moving towards shared infrastructures for severe and highly supportive autism research. Where appropriate, the Scientific Committee may facilitate follow-up contacts following the meeting to support networking and joint applications.
AWARDS (QR-based voting)
- Award for the best oral communication
- Award for the best poster format communication
- Best Research Incubator Project