Maja Bućan, Ph.D., Co-Director of ASPE, is a Professor of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Her laboratory played a critical role in the analysis of copy number variants in 1500 families with Autism Spectrum Disorders, including families with ASD sibling pairs. Her current work includes family-based analysis of mental illness in a large multigenerational Old Order Amish pedigree. For many years, Dr. Bućan served on the Steering Committee for the Autism Genetics Research Exchange, the first large collection of ASD families (supported initially by Cure Autism Now and later Autism Speaks). She is also a founding member of the Center for Autism Research at Penn and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.