By Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named an ally, Dr. John Gaitanis, to lead a key federal advisory panel on autism on Friday, two people with knowledge of the announcement told Reuters.
Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist who was appointed last month as director of the National Institutes of Health’s child health institute, will take over from Dr. Sylvia Fogel, who has chaired the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee since January.
Fogel, a Harvard Medical School instructor and a parent to an adult child with autism, had worked quickly to propose, and then helped adopt, a sweeping new strategic plan focused on medical care, housing, aging, and other priorities for people with autism and their families.
The IACC under her leadership recommended the government adopt the term “profound autism” for those with high support needs. She took the helm after Kennedy remade the advisory board, filling it with all new members, some of whom have promoted ties between vaccines and autism.
Kennedy said during a meeting that Gaitanis would take over because the committee has traditionally been chaired by one of its 21 federal members, the two people said. Fogel, who will be staying on the IACC, is one of the committee’s 20 outside public members.
He praised the IACC’s work so far and Fogel specifically, one of the people said, adding that she would be helping Gaitanis with the transition.
Kennedy also said that the IACC had not done its job in the past, and apologized to the public members who may have felt frustrated by a perceived lack of support from federal members.
Fogel, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the NIH did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional Reporting by Robin Respaut in San Francisco; Editing by Nia Williams)
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