Nurse researcher Jennifer Elder, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor at the University of Florida’s College of Nursing, Gainesville, Fla., will use seed money provided in April by a Tier I Pipeline to Proposal award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help patients with autism.

PCORI funded 47 Tier I awards, which provide up to $15,000 per project to help recipients build their community partnerships and begin developing governance structures, communications plans and potential research questions.

“With the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders, families of these patients require guidance in identifying and assessing evidence-based interventions that are most suitable, which may prove difficult for families in poor and rural areas that may lack these resources,” Elder said in the release.

Elder will lead the nine-month project at UF, which seeks to connect patients and families in rural, underserved communities with clinicians, teachers and community members to identify interventions most effective for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.