Frank DeStefano
Frank DeStefano, MD, MPH, FACPM is a medical epidemiologist and researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he is director of the Immunization Safety Office.
Education
DeStefano graduated from Cornell University in 1974, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, from which he received a medical degree in 1978. He received his MPH at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1984.
Research
DeStefano is an author of a number of scientific studies concluding that vaccines, in particular thimerosal-containing ones, do not cause autism. In March 2013, for example, DeStefano was the lead author on a study in the Journal of Pediatrics, which concluded that exposure of children to particular ingredients in vaccines, namely proteins and polysaccharides, did not increase their risk of autism. In addition, DeStefano et al. concluded that children with autism had received the same number of antigens as children without. This study received widespread media attention.