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.
Additional Research Links Toddlers’ Screen Time to Developmental Delays
More Screen Time at 1 Year Associated with Communication and Problem-Solving Delays at Ages 2 and 4 A Japanese study of more than 7,000 children has found an association between screen time and developmental outcomes in young children. This new research discovered that longer screen time viewing at a year old was associated with developmental […]
Community Shares | August 21st 2023
A recent Canadian population-based study found that individuals with autism have higher rates of self-harm events leading to emergency health care and suicide death than people without the disorder, for both males and females. Females on the spectrum showed the highest cumulative self-harm events, followed by males with autism, neurotypical females, and neurotypical males. Males […]
Potential Blindness Linked to Restrictive Eating Habits of Children with ASD
Research Shows that Vitamin A Supplementation Can Reverse Eye Damage Xerophthalmia is a disease that causes dry eyes due to a vitamin A deficiency (VAD). If the condition goes untreated, xerophthalmia can lead to night blindness and cornea damage, which carries the risk of total blindness. This disease is rare in the United States but […]
Another Study Concludes that Labor Epidural Analgesia Is Linked to Autism
Fickle Findings from Recent Research Leave Parents Wondering Which Results Are Correct Over the past three years, SafeMinds has covered five studies investigating epidural anesthesia use during labor and its neurodevelopmental effect on offspring. The results of these studies have been inconsistent, with one study finding a direct association between epidurals and autism, one finding […]
Prenatal Exposure to Lead Negatively Affects the Gut Microbiome in Childhood
Study’s Authors Identify the Second Trimester as a Critical Exposure Window New research from the Icahn School of Medicine analyzed pilot microbiome data from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) cohort based in Mexico City to examine associations between prenatal lead (Pb) exposure and gut microbiome composition and function in […]
An Early Autism Diagnosis Does Not Necessarily Mean a Better Quality of Life
Research Finds the Number of Autistic Traits Is the Strongest Predictor of Better Life Outcomes British researchers recently set out to examine whether learning about an individual’s autism diagnosis earlier in childhood predicts a better quality of life and well-being in adulthood. Unlike previous research, their study did not find evidence for this relationship, suggesting […]
