The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) launched a new research effort Thursday aimed at transforming autism diagnosis and precision care.
The initiative—dubbed the Systems for Phenotypic Evaluation, Clinical Trajectories, Response, and Agency (SPECTRA) program—will combine advanced computational tools with real-world data, according to the Sept. 17 announcement.
“Autism is not one-size-fits-all, and our science and care cannot be either,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., HHS Secretary, in a statement. “Millions of American families are impacted by autism, and they need better answers about why it presents so differently from one person to another and which approaches can best meet each person's needs. SPECTRA will harness the best of American science and innovation to deliver those answers—and turn them into better outcomes for people with autism and their families.”
The program will work with stakeholders and advocacy groups as researchers integrate objective biological data. Researchers will create an end-to-end system to identify autism spectrum disorder risk factors, connect patients to appropriate interventions and accelerate clinical research for new therapies.
Ultimately, SPECTRA’s goal is to provide earlier and more accurate diagnoses, identify individual health and developmental trajectory factors and develop more precise care approaches, according to HHS officials.
ARPA-H is seeking “bold, cross-disciplinary solutions” surrounding four technical areas: analysis (TA 1), modeling (TA 2), precision intervention (TA 3) and enabling technologies (TA 4).
Solution summaries are due for each technical area with the following deadlines:
- TA 4: Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. ET, submissions open Oct. 4
- TA 1 and TA 2: Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. ET, submissions open Nov. 18
- TA 3: Jan. 18, 2027 at 5 p.m. ET, submissions open Jan. 4, 2027
The deadline for full proposal submissions will be announced at a later date, according to the program’s website.
Russell Shilling, Ph.D., will serve as SPECTRA’s manager. He has two children with autism and previously served on the medical and science advisory committee at Autism Speaks.
"Over the past decade, we have become much better at recognizing autism and the substantial differences among people across the spectrum,” Shilling said in a statement. “Yet our approaches to assessment and care have not kept pace, and they overlook the behavioral and biological complexity of each person.”
Shilling added that the program is “designed around that complexity.”
“ARPA-H is modernizing autism assessment and care by combining advanced health technologies, next-generation computational tools, and the lived experience of the autism community to better understand each person's needs and develop technologies that can also improve day-to-day quality of life,” he said.
RFK Jr., who has promoted debunked theories suggesting autism is linked to vaccines, has heavily focused on autism since taking office. In April 2025, the health secretary claimed a sweeping HHS research push will have determined the root cause of autism, what he referred to as an "epidemic," in just five months, by September. Kennedy's language and environmental claims have drawn sharp criticism from the medical, scientific and autism advocacy communities.
The Autism Society called Kennedy's claim to find the root cause of autism in five months "harmful, misleading, and unrealistic."
"Autism is a complex developmental disability shaped by genetic, biological and environmental factors. It is neither a chronic illness nor a contagion that qualifies harmful language like 'epidemic,' and to do so is both inaccurate and stigmatizing," the organization said.
Kennedy and President Trump have also asserted that autism is connected with Tylenol use during pregnancy.
A year ago, the National Institutes of Health launched the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI), a $50 million research effort that will use large-scale data resources to explore contributors to the causes of autism spectrum disorder.
In August, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a state toolkit with resources on applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to aid states in protecting children with autism. It does not establish new federal requirements or endorse any single treatment approach to ABA.