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.

Education and career

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 a few 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.^[1] hereafter, he was appointed professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kentucky, whose chemistry department he became chairperson of in 1997.^[1] He is now professor emeritus.^[5]

Basic research

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]

Thimerosal controversy

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]

Supplement marketing

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]