Dr. Andrew Wakefield
Dr. Andy Wakefield, MB BS FRCS FRCPath, is the Executive Director of Thoughtful House Center for Children. His extensive background in research, including the publication of over one hundred forty original scientific articles, book chapters, and invited scientific commentaries, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the research program at Thoughtful House. In addition, his administrative experience and community involvement guide the participation and support of the many clinical and research collaborators that make up the Thoughtful House team.
Dr. Wakefield is an academic gastroenterologist. After graduating in 1981 with a degree in Medicine from St. Mary's Hospital (part of the University of London), he pursued a career in gastrointestinal surgery with a particular interest in inflammatory bowel disease. He qualified as Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1985, and in 1996 was awarded a Wellcome Trust Traveling Fellowship to study small-intestine transplantation in Toronto, Canada. He was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists in 2001.
Discoveries made during his work in Canada led him on return to the UK to pursue the study of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In 1998, he and his colleagues at the Royal Free Hospital in London reported a novel inflammatory bowel disease in children with developmental disorders such as autism. Dr. Wakefield resisted pressure to stop his research on the possible links between childhood immunizations, intestinal inflammation, and autism, leaving the Royal Free School of Medicine in 2001. He is involved in many scientific research collaborations in the U.S and abroad, investigations centering on the immunologic, metabolic, and pathologic changes occurring in inflammatory bowel diseases as well as links between intestinal disease and neurologic injury in children, and the possible relationship of these conditions to environmental causes.
More Information:
- Staff
- Our Research
- Publications
- Collaborators
- Tech Labs
Research
- Press Releases
- Newsletters
- Events
- Join our Newsletter