Harvard Medical School Instructor Appointed Chair of National Autism Committee

Harvard Medical School instructor Sylvia P. Fogel was named chair of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee last week, taking on leadership amid a renewed — and controversial — national push to reshape autism research.

Fogel was one of 21 new members appointed to the committee by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76, who tasked the group with bringing autism research into the 21st century and called on members to “pursue rigorous science and deliver the answers Americans deserve,” according to an HHS press release.

Fogel described the Trump administration’s focus on autism research as long overdue and argued that autism should not be cast as a political issue in an interview with The Crimson on Wednesday.

“I am very grateful to the Trump administration for making autism a priority, and I had been fairly disappointed that this hadn’t happened sooner,” she said. “This really should be an apolitical issue. I’m grateful that autism has been front and center.”

Kennedy has long promoted claims linking autism to vaccines, drawing sustained criticism from several scientists and public health officials who point to decades of studies supporting vaccine safety.

In November 2025, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention updated its website to state that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

Asked about the debate, Fogel said she does not believe current evidence supports a link between vaccines and autism, adding that Kennedy’s claims likely stem from “being responsive to some segments of the autism community who feel they’ve had that experience.”

“I think the available data that we have certainly for the MMR and thimerosal does not support a link, but I also know that systems biology and personalized medicine and specific individual vulnerabilities really deserve more investigation,” she said. “Not just for vaccines, but for a variety of potential environmental contributors.”

Fogel said the IACC must scrutinize autism prevention and treatment efforts, citing the rise in autism prevalence in the United States from one in 150 8-year-old children in 2000 — when the IACC was first formed — to one in 31 in 2022.

Fogel said the increase in autism rates cannot be explained fully by improved diagnostic practices, instead hypothesizing that “multifactorial environmental exposures,” both prenatal and postnatal, are behind the upward trend.

“We’re no closer to understanding that increase. We’re no closer to prevention. We desperately need treatment, including for comorbid conditions,” she said during the interview.

Fogel said the IACC would focus on identifying gaps in autism research and policy under her tenure, with the goal of developing more targeted and actionable policy recommendations.

“I hope the committee moves toward more specific, actionable recommendations — identifying particular agencies, programs, and funding mechanisms where change is needed,” she wrote in an earlier Tuesday statement.

Fogel said her interest in autism research is deeply personal, noting that her child was diagnosed with autism and that many members of the IACC share similar experiences.

“I probably speak for my other colleagues who are on the committee — we really want a chance. Most of us are personally affected,” she said. “We’ve lived this 24/7. We want a chance to build on what’s come before and also to improve on what’s come before.”

Several of Fogel’s newly appointed colleagues have taken controversial positions on autism science and policy, including questioning vaccine safety and supporting treatments outside the scientific mainstream.

Asked how she plans to navigate those tensions and lead amid broader clashes between the White House and academic institutions like Harvard, Fogel said her job would be to keep political disagreements from overshadowing the committee’s work.

“Political life is complicated, and there are deep divisions in our country,” she said. “Autism in particular provides a way to bridge the divide and to come together and focus on what is, I think, a really crucial issue for our children and adults.”

—Staff writer Riya S. Shah can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at riyas.23. Follow her on X @RiyaShah233.

—Staff writer Juliana L. Yao can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at jly.87. Follow her on X @JulianaYao298.