SECAUCUS — The neuroscientist who would have overseen a controversial therapy for children with autism has been fired by Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus and, in a separate action, his nomination to a state commission on brain research has been delayed.

Philip DeFina was part of an ambitious plan by Meadowlands to offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy to children diagnosed with autism. The therapy, typically used to treat burns and other wounds by energizing dying tissue, required approval from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. Meadowlands would have been the first hospital in the state to offer the experimental treatment.

But the application ran into strong opposition, and questions were raised in a Nov. 27 Star-Ledger article in which traditional medical and psychological experts said the treatment offers families false hope while draining bank accounts because the experimental therapy is not covered by insurance. Some families say it has helped their children, and argued that if a method is safe and seems to be effective, it should be given a chance even if it hasn't been thoroughly vetted through research.

The article also described DeFina’s doctorate in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University. The school, a mainly online university with monthly in-person sessions, is the only one to receive national accreditation from the American Psychological Association. DeFina’s experimental treatments with neurologist Jonathan Fellus for coma and brain injury have fetched as much as $100,000 from the families of patients who have not improved using traditional means. Fellus remains at Meadowlands.

Meadowlands withdrew the application to treat autism using hyperbarics on Nov. 30. Without elaborating, hospital spokesman Bill Maer confirmed last week that DeFina was terminated Dec. 2.DeFina was vice president for rehabilitation at Meadowlands and the scientific adviser for its Rehabilitation Institute and Neuroscience Center.

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DeFina’s troubles continued last week when a state Senate panel poised to vote on his nomination to the New Jersey Commission for Brain Injury Research was delayed by its chairman, as well as Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, which tapped him for the unpaid post. DeFina said he was unaware his nomination to the commission was put on hold.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari said he delayed the vote on DeFina’s nomination to the brain injury research commissioner last week because he was "concerned about the information in the article. I want to delve into it more."

Scutari said a Christie official requested the nomination be pulled from the agenda. The governor’s office did not return a call or an e-mail seeking comment.

The commission reviews and funds research funded by a $1 surcharge on motor vehicle offenses.

Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), vice chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Services Committee, said he had no knowledge of DeFina’s dismissal. But he questioned why the administration asked to table its own appointment. "Who nominated him, and why?" Vitale said.

Meadowlands needed a license from the state Department of Health and Senior Services to use two hyperbaric chambers it bought last year, and would have needed state permission to use it to treat autism, a use not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In rescinding its application to treat autism, Meadowlands "felt that it was more appropriate to focus on receiving approval for hyperbaric chambers for the use as part of the creation of a wound care center," Maer said, noting its service area "has one of the highest prevalence of diabetes and peripheral vascular disease in New Jersey."