Scientific and Clinical Advisory Council
SafeMinds Scientific & Clinical Advisory Council is comprised of clinicians, health professionals, and scientists from a variety of disciplines, including, among others, specialists and experts in autism, environment, toxicology, pediatrics, neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychology.
José G. Dórea, Ph.D.
Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of Brasília
A graduate of the University of Pernambuco with advanced degrees from the University of Massachusetts (MSc and PhD), Dr. Dorea has worked at Iowa State University (USA), University of Hawaii (USA), and University of Campinas (Brazil). He has authored numerous book chapters, and has published on infant nutrition and the environmental impact of toxic (natural and man made) substances on the growth and development of children. Dr. Dorea is on the editorial board of peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has authored and co-authored more than 180 papers in journals of public health, medical and environmental sciences, toxicology, and pharmacology.
Cindy Schneider, MD
Medical Director, Center for Autism Research and Education
Dr. Schneider is the Medical Director of CARE, the Center for Autism Research and Education. Her integrative medical practice is exclusively dedicated to individuals with autism and related neurological and immune disorders. Dr. Schneider’s areas of special interest include treatment of the immune, gastrointestinal, and metabolic aspects of autism and the identification of environmental toxins contributing to the autism epidemic. She has designed and implemented multiple research studies, and collaborated with researchers worldwide. Dr. Schneider’s priorities in both her medical practice and her research include the identification of the causes of autism, the formulation of effective treatment protocols, and the prevention of autism in future generations.
Dr. Schneider has served as a member of the Defeat Autism Now! think tank since 1997, and serves on the Clinician Advisory Committee at the Autism Research Institute. She was the founding president and medical director of two nonprofit organizations for autism research, and is a medical advisor for SafeMinds. Dr. Schneider has published extensively in the areas of genetic vulnerability to environmental toxins, and innovative treatments for the gastrointestinal and immune complications of autism.
As the mother of two children with autism and a leading authority in the field, Dr. Schneider closely tracks developments in autism research, and provides both a medical and personal assessment of current and promising treatment options.
Robert Sears, M.D.
Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician in a full-time private practice in Dana Point, Calif. He received his medical degree from Georgetown University, and did his pediatric residency training at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “Dr. Bob,” as he likes to be called by his little patients, provides a unique blend of mainstream and integrative medical care. He is a co-author in the Sears Parenting Library, including The Baby Book and The Portable Pediatrician, and is the author of The Vaccine Book, The Autism Book, and HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months. Dr. Bob has appeared on Dr. Oz, The Doctors, CNN, CBS Early Show, Fox Morning News, and Dr. Phil discussg parenting advice and pediatric health issues. He is a frequent speaker at parenting conferences, and serves on the medical advisory board for various organizations, including Talk About Curing Autism, Autism Care and Treatment Today, HappyBaby Organic Baby Food, and Kaplan University Department of Health Sciences. Dr. Bob is a contributor to AskDrSears.com, and regularly answers questions on his Mothering.com Ask the Experts forum.
Yogurt Improves Gut Barrier Function
Harvard Study Shows Improvement in Gut Permeability Inflammatory Marker Many individuals with autism have gastrointestinal issues which involve a “leaky gut”, or permeability of the gastrointestinal tract lining. The permeability allows substances to enter the bloodstream such as the inflammatory cytokine, soluble CD14, which is a marker of gut hyperpermeability. A new study looked at […]
Tragic Autism Wandering Case Triggers Change at the FBI
Agent Develops Checklist of Baseline Questions for Missing Children with ASD A North Carolina community was left reeling when the body of a six-year-old boy with autism was discovered in a local park partially submerged in a creek. It was just two years ago when Maddox Ritch wandered off from his family at Gastonia Park. […]
How to Identify and Understand Autism Research
The Autism Research Institute’s New Guide Sifting through scientific and medical autism spectrum disorder studies can be very overwhelming. The Autism Research Institute (ARI) understands this feeling and has recently published a helpful guide for caregivers to interpret and assess research. ARI’s guide provides information like where to find research, descriptions of study types, and […]
Finch Therapeutics Raises $90 Million for Microbiome Medication
Finch Therapeutics Group has raised $90 million to push its oral microbiome drug to treat recurrent C. difficile infection toward a regulatory submission with the FDA. The money raised will also be used to initiate a Phase 1b study evaluating a similar drug for autism spectrum disorder, as well as to advance treatments for chronic hepatitis B infection, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Sensory Processing Difficulties Related to Executive and Cognitive Dysfunction in Children with Autism
By comparing a group of children with autism (n = 40) to a group of neurotypical children (n = 40), Spanish researchers established that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have more sensory processing difficulties than the comparison group of children.
Michigan Autism Organization Sets Lofty 10-Year Employment Goal
The Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM), a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise expectations and expand opportunities for people touched by autism across their lifespan, has just set an extraordinary goal of creating 101,000 jobs for adults on the spectrum over the next ten years.
