Judy Van de Water is the Director of The Children’s Center for Environmental Health and her research focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Her research aims to define the peptide epitopes recognized by maternal autoantibodies to enable risk assessment and subphenotyping of autism spectrum disorder. She is also working to establish animal models to evaluate the mechanisms and effects of maternal autoantibodies and gene variations associated with maternal autoantibody related autism, as well as the effects of environmental factors and altered cytokine profiles on neurodevelopment.

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Faculty SPOTLIGHT
Immunobiology of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Research Focus:
Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Judy Van de Water, PhD
Director of The Children’s Center for Environmental Health (CCEH)
Office of Corporate Relations
E-mail: ocr@ucdavis.edu
Phone: (530) 754-0110
Define the Peptide Epitopes Recognized by
Maternal Autoantibodies
The elucidated Peptide Biomarkers will enable:
• ASD Risk Assessment
• ASD Subphenotype Stratification
• Generation of a clinically relevant animal model
May correlate autoantibody peptide reactivity
with ASD behaviors and severity
Define Mechanisms of Autoantibody Pathogenesis
and Strategies to Prevent MAR Autism
The MAR Mouse Model enables the evaluation of:
• Mechanisms of autoantibody generation
• Autoantibody interference during neurodevelopment
• Therapeutics and treatments for ASD
May lead to the first clinically relevant
model of ASD
Define the Effects of Gene Variation
Associated with MAR Autism
The MAR Rat Model enables the evaluation of:
• Effects of MET genetic variant
• Autoantibody generation in the presence of IL-10
deficiency
May help evaluate how and when maternal
autoantibodies are generated
Discovered Autoantibodies are responsible for about 20% of ASD diagnoses— Maternal Autoantibody Related (MAR) Autism
Define the Effects of Altered Cytokine
and Chemokine Profiles on Neurodevelopment
Establishing Neural Crest Cell-Derived Neurons to evaluate:
• The effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines on neuronal differentiation
• Interactions between the immune system and the sympathetic nervous system
• Determining the effects of maternal gestational risk profiles for altered
neurodevelopment
May be utilized to prevent adverse neurodevelopmental
outcomes following a gestational immune insult
Define the Effects Environmental Factors on the
Developing Immune and Nervous Systems
Establishing patient peripheral blood immune cell cultures to evaluate:
• Cytokine profiles produced after exposure to to widely used
• environmental toxicants
• Cytokine profiles in typically developing children compared to children
with neurodevelopmental disorders after immune stimulation
May provide insight into the relationship between
immune dysfunction and neurodevelopmental disorders
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Selected Publications:
1. Maternal Anti-Fetal Brain IgG Autoantibodies and ASD: Current Knowledge and its Implications for Potential Therapeutics--Link
2. Increased IL-17 in Children with ASD and Co-morbid Asthma--Link
3. Autism-Specific Maternal Autoantibodies Recognize Critical Proteins in the Developing Brain--Link
4. Maternal Antibodies from Mothers of Children with ASD Alter Brain Growth and Social Behavior in Rhesus Monkey--Link
5. Association of a MET Genetic Variant with ASD-associated Maternal Autoantibodies to Fetal Brain Proteins and Cytokine
Expression--Link
6. Neonatal Cytokine Profiles Associated with ASD--Link
Opportunities for Corporate Engagement
Novel Biomarkers and Platform to determine risk of ASD
New animal models of ASD
Platform for Testing Effects of Environmental Toxicants and Cytokines
Well-Characterized Biorepository for Adult and Pediatric Samples