Just weeks after his work was discredited, the British doctor whose research sparked widespread fear of a link between vaccines and autism has resigned from the Texas treatment center he founded.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s resignation from The Thoughtful House Center for Children in Austin, Texas comes after the British General Medical Council determined in late January that Wakefield acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in conducting his 1998 study that led many to believe there was a link between vaccines and autism.

The study published in the British medical journal The Lancet was retracted earlier this month following the medical panel’s findings. Numerous scientific studies have ruled out a link between vaccines and autism.

Wakefield’s resignation from the treatment center he helped found comes unexpectedly. He left the organization voluntarily “to make sure that the controversy surrounding the recent findings of the General Medical Council does not interfere with the important work that our dedicated team of clinicians and researchers is doing,” according to a statement put out by The Thoughtful House Center.

Wakefield was never licensed to practice medicine in the United States, but served in a research capacity at the center, reports the (London) Times. To read more click here.

Read more stories like this one. Sign up for Disability Scoop's free email newsletter to get the latest developmental disability news sent straight to your inbox.