The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Laurel Hollow was one of several research institutions to receive grant funding through the Eagles Autism Foundation, an organization founded by Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie that raises funds for innovative autism research and care programs, which will provide the Nassau County laboratory with $400,000.
The Eagles Autism Foundation announced in late February that 54 projects specializing in cutting-edge autism research and care will receive $10.8 million in funding. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is joined by Stony Brook University and Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine in Manhattan as grant recipients in the area.
The foundation said the funding will go toward studying solutions to neutralize inflammatory effects that may cause autism in the early stages of pregnancy.
In 2025, the laboratory received funding to support a project investigating whether a mother’s immune response during pregnancy and changes in placental hormones can influence the development of autism-like behaviors in babies, using mice to test it, according to the foundation.
The foundation said it received 267 letters of consideration for funding, which were reviewed by a team of scientists to support the 54 selected proposals, including 20 different projects for autism research, 13 pilot grants, and four postdoctoral fellowships.
The organization has doled out $40 million into 223 autism research projects since 2018, according to the foundation.
“It is rewarding to know that our financial investment this year will support the next generation of scientific researchers and leaders who are all working hard to accelerate treatment for the autism community,” Lurie, whose brother was diagnosed as a child on the autism spectrum, said in a statement.
