Dr. Xue-Jun (June) Kong, MD, is the Principal Investigator and Director of the Synapse Lab, with extensive experience in autism research and translational medicine. She founded the Synapse Lab for Autism Research at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) before joining Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) as an AP-Scientist/Principal Investigator. Over the past decade, she has led an interdisciplinary team advancing the early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through biomarker discovery, including microbiome profiling, eye tracking, EEG, brain imaging, and immune markers.
She has also pioneered several clinical trials exploring innovative treatments for ASD, such as probiotics, oxytocin, and vagal nerve stimulation. Her research centers on the gut–brain axis, oxytocin signaling, and brain connectivity in ASD pathogenesis and phenotypes, with the goal of identifying early hallmarks and therapeutic pathways. Her work has resulted in filing of six patents and one copyright, with three technologies successfully transferred to industry to improve early diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Kong also established the SYNAPSE primary care co-production model, the East Meets West protocol, integrated medical–educational models, and ASD talent development initiatives, all designed to enhance patient care and advance clinical research. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the North American Journal of Medicine & Science and Translator-in-Chief of Frontiers in Autism Research – New Horizons for Diagnosis and Treatment (People’s Medical Publishing House, China, 2017).
In addition, Dr. Kong chairs the International Medicine Transformation (IMT) Initiative and the Autism Neurodiversity Institute. Widely recognized as a leading physician-scientist in autism research, her future work continues to focus on identifying tools for early screening and advancing novel treatment strategies through clinical trials.