Secretary Burwell Names Dr. Thomas E. Novotny New HHS Autism Coordinator

April 18, 2016

  http://www.hhs.gov/ash/leadership/dash.html

HHS Secretary Burwell named Dr. Thomas Novotny as the new HHS Autism Coordinator, authorized under the Autism CARES Act of 2014 (see Sec. 2 (a)).  Dr. Novotny's duties, according to the law, are to 1)implement autism spectrum disorder activities, taking into account the strategic plan developed by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee; and 2) ensure that autism spectrum disorder activities of the Department of Health and Human Services and of other Federal departments and agencies are not unnecessarily duplicative.

Dr. Novotny, a graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH Epidemiology), is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego.  He is Board Certified in Preventive Medicine, has specialized in health systems development, non-communicable disease control, health diplomacy and served in the National Health Service Corps.  For more information, please read a blog by Dr. Novotny and ACL's Aaron Bishop on autism awareness, HHS Embraces Autism Awareness and Acceptance: Improving Opportunities for Individuals with Autism and Their Families.