Jill Escher

In 2013, Escher presented at the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee about the germ cell exposure hypothesis of autism. In 2019, she was invited to present at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences about the importance of research on germline exposures.

Concerned about sugar's effects on the public health, Escher founded Sugar Addiction Awareness Day in 2011, which promotes the claim that sugar addiction among many people is a legitimate issue. She believes that some people are biologically susceptible to this addiction, and should eliminate sugar and flour from their diet. She has written articles on this topic, and has advocated for awareness in general.

In 2002, Escher appealed to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program to provide reimbursement for speech-language services for all autistic individuals, claiming that speech therapy provides benefits to autistic individuals that are equivalent to medicine. Escher won her appeal, but also asked the Office of Personnel Management for a written decision indicating indicating that BCBS was in error. This was cited as an example of a reimbursement appeal success.

Before becoming a research advocate, Escher earned her law degree and Master's in City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley. In 1996, Jill Escher published her master's thesis, A Nightmare on Elm Street?: Government Liability for Innovative Street Design.

Escher's hypothesis is based on her own personal story. When her mother was pregnant with her in 1965, she was administered very high, regular doses of synthetic steroid hormone drugs that were thought at the time to prevent miscarriage. After discovering this history at age 45, Escher hypothesized that these drugs disrupted the development of her fetal eggs, which ultimately caused two of her children to have autism. She is known for collaborating with scientific experts, speaking at scientific conferences, and for being elected as the only non-scientist to serve on the governing council of the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society. Escher has also petitioned the FDA to withdraw approval for two drugs until they can be tested for impacts on developing fetal germ cells, an anti-nausea drug approved for pregnant women, and the synthetic progestin marketed as Makena. Her papers published in scientific journals stress that more research needs to be done on germ line vulnerabilities to pharmaceuticals and chemicals.