It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 people with autism in Denmark and that some of them have not been diagnosed with the disorder. The number of people diagnosed with autism has, however, increased dramatically in recent decades, but the causes of the disorder remain unknown. Autism is a complex, chronic disorder which requires family support and an interdisciplinary therapeutic effort.

Diana Schendel, the new professor with special responsibilities at Aarhus University, would like to answer the question of why some children develop autism. The researcher is part of The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrated Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), which was launched in 2012 and is the hitherto largest mapping of genes and other factors that may be of significance for whether you develop autism and five other psychiatric disorders.

"I am really privileged to be a researcher in Denmark and at Aarhus University. Here we have extensive data registers within psychiatric epidemiology and there are good opportunities for both local and international cooperation," says Diana Schendel.

She hopes that her research can increase our knowledge of autism, clarify characteristics of the people with the greatest risk of developing autism, as well as the types of factors that increase the risk.

Diana Schendel was employed at the university in 2013 and she will hold her inaugural lecture on 30 June 2014.

Further information

Professor Diana Schendel
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health and the National Centre for Register-based Research
Direct tel.: +45 8716 5752
Mobile: +45 2162 7137
diana.schendel@ph.au.dk