Identifying and Responding to Gaps in the Academic Research Pipeline: Findings From the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Early Career Committee

The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) was established in 2001 with the purpose of providing researchers in the field of autism a specific venue to enhance the quality of multidisciplinary research and elevate the field among the sciences. The autism field and size of the society has now expanded greatly to include over 5000 members, 29% of whom identify as early career researchers. In 2016, a survey was conducted with these early career researchers to identify existing supports and areas of need necessary for a successful and sustained autism research career. Results clearly identified three areas of need: (1) networking opportunities with “change makers,” including funding agencies, journal editors, and senior autism researchers; (2) ensuring early career researchers in the autism research field were diverse and representative of the world; and (3) support from senior researchers to help early career researchers secure their first independent grant and move through promotion. The INSAR Early Career Committee (ECC) was established and developed three initiatives to address the aforementioned gaps: Research Rapid Rounds, the Global Representatives Initiative Pilot (GRIP), and the Mentoring Initiative. The ECC has successfully connected over 34 early career researchers and 40 students/trainees to mentors in 19 unique countries through networking programs and events and has established representatives in seven different countries outside the US and UK. These initiatives are a step towards supporting early career academics in the autism field and bring together autism researchers from around the world to share their work and create professional collaborations to forge our field forward.