Obituary: Edward Ross Ritvo M.D.

Excerpt

One of the pioneers in autism research, Ed Ritvo passed away in Los Angeles on June 10th, 2020. His early work helped establish the field of scientific research in autism. He was one of the pioneers in developing better approaches to diagnosis, establishing autism as a distinct condition apart from childhood schizophrenia and in establishing the clear neurobiological basis of autism. His early work on biomarkers for autism continued into his retirement. He was also one of the first to conduct large scale family genetic studies of the condition and was one of the first to work in the area of neurochemistry of autism and serotonin. …