Meng-Chuan Lai is associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto in Canada.
Meng-Chuan Lai
Assistant professor
University of Toronto
From this contributor
Quashing sex bias in autism research calls for participant rainbow
Autism researchers must attend to the need for sex and gender diversity in study design as a rule rather than as an exception.
Quashing sex bias in autism research calls for participant rainbow
By
Meng-Chuan Lai
25 September 2018 | 6 min read
Brains of girls, boys may mark distinct paths to autism
Differences between the brains of men and women with autism may help explain why men are more susceptible to the condition and women appear to be protected from it.
Brains of girls, boys may mark distinct paths to autism
By
Meng-Chuan Lai
19 October 2015 | 7 min read
Mind the gender gap
Autism may be male-biased in prevalence, but our understanding of it should not be, argues Meng-Chuan Lai.
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ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
ABCD Study omits gender-identity data from latest release
The removal counteracts the goals of the longitudinal study by “pretending that some aspects of adolescent brain development don’t exist,” says sex differences researcher Nicola Grissom.
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Calli McMurray
11 July 2025 | 4 min read
Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
Neuropeptides reprogram social roles in leafcutter ants
The mechanisms that control the labor roles of ants may also be conserved in naked mole rats, a new study shows.
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Shaena Montanari
11 July 2025 | 7 min listen
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.
Perspectives from the field: Opinions in autism research
This collection of Spectrum articles from the past 12 months highlights expert perspectives on autism’s heritability and its link to biological sex, the value of transdiagnostic frameworks, and the field’s future, among other topics.
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Daisy Yuhas
10 July 2025 | 3 min read