President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health answered sharp questions in a confirmation hearing Wednesday about his views on vaccines, research funding and the role scientists should play in a pandemic.

Maine Senator Susan Collins said she has “areas of disagreement” with President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making the moderate Republican’s position key to the vote’s outcome.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Trump's pick to lead the NIH, appeared to be open studies investigating potential links between vaccines and autism, a long-debunked theory.