AI & Machine Learning in Biotechnology
Independent autism committee kicks off efforts to counter RFK Jr., influence Congress
WASHINGTON — Autism scientists and advocates met Thursday to develop an agenda for autism research, the first gathering of a group that hopes to command the attention of Congress and private organizations, in response to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy reshaping the federal autism advisory committee to support his agenda.
In January, Kennedy appointed 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, many of whom have tied the existence of autism to vaccines, despite an overwhelming scientific consensus disproving that association. The refashioned federal committee has a “striking absence of scientific expertise,” said Craig Snyder, a consultant and former board member at Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group that also funds autism research.
WASHINGTON — Autism scientists and advocates met Thursday to develop an agenda for autism research, the first gathering of a group that hopes to command the attention of Congress and private organizations, in response to health secretary Robert F. Kennedy reshaping the federal autism advisory committee to support his agenda.
In January, Kennedy appointed 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, many of whom have tied the existence of autism to vaccines, despite an overwhelming scientific consensus disproving that association. The refashioned federal committee has a “striking absence of scientific expertise,” said Craig Snyder, a consultant and former board member at Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group that also funds autism research.