"DATELINE NBC" TO AIR "DOSE OF CONTROVERSY" - AUG 30

"DATELINE NBC" TAKES AN UNPRECEDENTED LOOK AT THE DEBATE SURROUNDING VACCINES AND AUTISM

Matt Lauer Talks Exclusively To Dr. Andrew Wakefield Who First Suggested A Possible Link Between A Common Vaccine And Autism

"Dose of Controversy" Airs Sunday, August 30 at 7 PM/ET

NEW YORK � August 25, 2009 � NBC News' Matt Lauer will take an unprecedented look at the emotional debate surrounding vaccines and the suggested link to autism on Sunday, August 30 at 7 PM ET with "Dose of Controversy." In the one-hour "Dateline," Lauer speaks exclusively with Dr. Andrew Wakefield, whose 1998 medical study was the first in the world to suggest a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The British doctor has since influenced the lives and stirred the passions of millions of parents worldwide looking to solve the mystery of what causes the complex developmental disorder.

But Dr. Wakefield's theories have also raised serious questions from the media and the medical community. Lauer interviews investigative journalist Brian Deer who wrote a critical report for London's Sunday Times in 2004 detailing what he said were potential conflicts of interest that Dr. Wakefield had never revealed. Lauer also talks with Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and expert on vaccines who has spoken out on behalf of vaccine safety in the United States.

Now, Dr. Wakefield reacts to his harshest critics on the controversy he's created over the past decade.

Lauer also reports on Dr. Wakefield's most recent work in the United States and the medical community's continuing search for the cause of autism, including new studies from researchers working to understand the disorder that affects 1 in 150 American children.

David Corvo is the executive producer of "Dateline NBC."