The Vaccine-Autism Link Controversy

Brian Deer spent seven years investigating research that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine with autism, originally published in 1998 in the British medical journal the Lancet. In a series of articles for The Sunday Times of London and in a British Channel 4 documentary, he exposed the research's key finding as a sham. His investigation ultimately resulted in the British Medical Journal denouncing the research as fraudulent in January 2011. On February 15, we welcomed Brian Deer to Toronto to speak about lessons learned during his investigation. Following his presentation, Brian joins a panel discussion with Penny Park, director of Science Media Centre Canada; Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, a University Health Network (UHN) staff respirologist and a deputy editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal; and Dr. Miriam Shuchman, chair of the Research Ethics Board at Women's College Hospital. The discussion is moderated by the host of Discovery's Daily Planet, Jay Ingram.