Scientific and Clinical Advisory Council
The SafeMinds Scientific & Clinical Advisory Council is made up 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 from the University of Pernambuco with advanced degrees from the University of Massachusetts (MSc and PhD). He has worked at Iowa State University (USA), University of Hawaii (USA), and University of Campinas (Brazil). He is author of book chapters and has published on infant nutrition and environmental impact of toxic (natural and man made) substances on growth and development of children. He is in the Editorial Board of peer-reviewed scientific journals and has authored and co-authored more than 180 papers; 75 since 2007 in journals of public health, medical and environmental sciences, toxicology, and pharmacology.
Lynda Knobeloch, Ph.D.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (BS and PhD) where she currently holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center. As senior toxicologist at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, she has directed numerous grant-funded studies, conducted epidemiological investigations, and developed regulatory standards for Wisconsin’s groundwater protection and air management programs. She has authored and co-authored more than 50 scientific articles in the fields of human exposure assessment, toxicology, and epidemiology and has served on several federal advisory committees for the U.S. EPA. She was a member of the NAS Committee on the Toxicological Effects of Methylmercury and reviewer of the 2001 IOM Immunization Safety Review.
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. Priorities in her medical practice and 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 been 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 is currently a Medical Advisor at SafeMinds. She 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 full-time private practice in Dana Point, California. 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 to discuss parenting advice and pediatric health issues and is a frequent speaker at parenting conferences. He is on the medical advisory board for various organizations, including Talk About Curing Autism, Autism Care and Treatment Today, HappyBaby Organic Baby Food, SafeMinds, 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.