A group of autism researchers and advocates is creating an independent advisory body called the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee (I-ACC) to develop a scientific agenda for the autism community.[1] This body was created in response to reform of the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), whose membership was changed by Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., excluding scientific experts and autism advocates.[1][2] The new IACC has 21 members who focus on advocacy rather than research, unlike the I-ACC with 12 members who are mostly researchers.[1][3] I-ACC members include former members of the federal body, such as Joshua Gordon, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation.[1] The first meeting of the I-ACC will take place on March 19, the same day as the first public meeting of the reformed IACC.[1] The goal of I-ACC is to defend against misinformation, such as the alleged unsubstantiated link between vaccines and autism, and to prioritize research for non-governmental donors.[1] Helen Tager-Flusberg of Boston University stated that the new federal IACC will not follow the priorities of the mainstream scientific community.[1] The Autism Science Foundation called the changes at IACC a complete restructuring without continuity and an absence of scientific expertise.[2]