A/Prof Jason Howitt is a neurobiologist who heads the Cell Signaling laboratory at Swinburne University. Dr Howitt’s laboratory studies molecular signaling pathways, particularly extracellular vesicles, in both neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, and in the transmission of misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases. His laboratory has created new techniques for the identification of exosome function in vivo, as well as novel animal models of autism and Parkinson’s disease. He is currently the Chair of the Department of Health Sciences and Biostatistics, and was previously the Chair of the Florey Faculty and Deputy Division Head at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Dr Howitt has held five NHMRC project grants over the past ten years.