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American chemist (born 1940) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boyd Eugene Haley (born September 22, 1940, Greensburg, Indiana) is an American anti-vaccine activist and retired professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky.
Boyd Eugene Haley | |
---|---|
Born | |
Alma mater | Franklin College, University of Idaho, Washington State University |
Known for | Photoaffinity labeling Anti-vaccine activism |
Spouse | Sandy Haley[1] |
Awards | Sigma Xi[2] |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Wyoming, University of Kentucky |
Thesis | Gamma-fluoro-adenosinetriphosphate: I. Synthesis and properties; II. Interaction with myosin, heavy meromyosin, and fumarase. (1971) |
A native of Greensburg, Indiana, Haley graduated from its New Point High School in 1959. Four years later, he received a bachelor's degree from Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, and then entered a teaching fellowship at Howard University.[3] Thereafter, he served as a U.S. Army medic for several years.
In 1967, Haley obtained an M.S. degree from the University of Idaho. He then entered a doctoral program at Washington State University, where he worked "to make chemical modifications on ATP to try to identify how and exactly where ATP binds to cause muscle movement."[4] In 1971, WSU granted him his Ph.D. degree in chemistry-biochemistry.
For three years, Haley served as a postdoctoral scholar at Yale University. From 1974 to 1985, he was a professor at the University of Wyoming.[2] hereafter, he was appointed professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kentucky, whose chemistry department he became chairperson of in 1997.[2] He is now professor emeritus.[5]
In 1992, Haley and a colleague, upon examining cerebrospinal fluid, reported levels of glutamine synthetase considerably higher in cases of Alzheimer's disease than in a control group, and suggested that this could be a biomarker to aid diagnosis.[6][7]
In 2005, Haley reproduced findings of gold salt removing mercury from molecules, and inferred support for the possibility of gold salts removing mercury from biological proteins.[8] Yet Haley noted that the gold salts could themselves be toxic, and called for the extreme caution before applying gold salts in medical treatment.[8]
Haley argues that mercury exposure via dental amalgams and vaccinations may cause neurological impairments and diseases, such as autism and Alzheimer's disease.[9] The United States Public Health Service and the American Dental Association reject these claims.[10][11]
Haley has appeared in court as an expert witness against vaccine manufacturers, stating his belief that thimerosal causes autism, but his testimony has not been accepted.[12] In 2008 a judge ruled that his "lack of expertise in genetics, epidemiology, and child neurology make it impossible for him to supply the necessary factual basis to support his testimony".[12]
Haley has labeled autism as "mad child disease" (akin to mad cow disease), which many autistic individuals and their parents have found highly offensive.[13][14]
Haley is the founder of CTI Science, a Lexington, Kentucky-based biotechnology firm. CTI marketed a product, OSR#1, for human consumption; it was described as an "antioxidant" dietary supplement that is a powerful chelator from a family originally developed to remove heavy metals from soil and acid mine drainage.[15] In June 2008, an FDA toxicologist questioned[16] "on what basis the product could be expected to be safe and could be considered a dietary ingredient", but CTI Science and Haley had not responded as of January 2010.[15] The testing was described as incomplete and indicating toxicity.[17] On June 17, 2010, the FDA sent a warning letter noting five potential violations, expressing concern over the testing, and requiring a response in 15 days.[18][19] Although Haley wrote an op-ed for the Lexington Herald-Leader,[20][21] the FDA did not receive a formal response, and OSR#1 was withdrawn from the market.[22]
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