Karen Pierce (IMAGE) University of California - San Diego Caption The study was led by Karen Pierce, PhD, professor of neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and co-director of the UC San Diego Autism Center of Excellence. Credit UC San Diego Health Sciences Usage Restrictions Use photo credit License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.