Jane Maroney El-Dahr is a clinical professor of pediatrics and the head of the division of pediatric allergy and immunology at Tulane University School of Medicine, where she has worked since 1990. She is also the president of the Louisiana Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.[1] She has expertise in allergy, immunology, and rheumatology.[2]

Education

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El-Dahr attended Jefferson Medical College, completed both her residency and her fellowship at the University of Virginia Health Science Center, and completed an internship at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1986.[3]

Research

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El-Dahr's primary research focus centers on allergies to certain substances in children, such as corn and mold, and is also noted for her research pertaining to post-Hurricane Katrina asthma.[4][5][1][6] However, she is best known for her autism-related research, and has written both chapters 7 and 8 of the book "Understanding Autism for Dummies".[7] She gave a presentation before the Institute of Medicine regarding what she described as the biological plausibility of a thimerosal-autism link in 2001.[8] She has argued that thimerosal causes autism through two separate mechanisms: direct neurotoxicity, and, more indirectly, by causing immune problems.[9] Her research, conducted with James B. Adams and Jeff Bradstreet as coauthors, has concluded that chelation therapy is a safe and effective treatment for autism.[10][11][12]

Personal life

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El-Dahr has an autistic son, who was 15 years old in 2010.[13][14] Her father was a general pediatrician, and often made house calls after picking her up from school while she sat in the car and did homework.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Simon, Fran (30 November 2005). "Coughing? Blame Dust, Not Katrina". Tulane University website. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b Burley, Taylor (August 2012). "JANE EL-DAHR / Allergy and Immunology, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and Pediatric Rheumatology". Myneworleans.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  3. ^ Jane El Dahr Biography
  4. ^ "Faculty | MedMaps". www.medmaps.org.
  5. ^ Victory, Joy (5 November 2005). "Some Hurricane Survivors Develop 'Katrina Cough'". ABC News. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  6. ^ Mitchell, H.; Cohn, R. D.; Wildfire, J.; Thornton, E.; Kennedy, S.; El-Dahr, J. M.; Chulada, P. C.; Mvula, M. M.; Grimsley, L. F.; Lichtveld, M. Y.; White, L. E.; Sterling, Y. M.; Stephens, K. U.; Martin, W. J. (2012). "Implementation of Evidence-based Asthma Interventions in Post-Katrina New Orleans: The Head-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana (HEAL) Study". Environmental Health Perspectives. 120 (11): 1607–1612. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104242. PMC 3556603. PMID 22894795.
  7. ^ Shore, Stephen; Rastelli, Linda G. (2011-03-01). Understanding Autism For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118053133.
  8. ^ Biologic Plausibility of the Hypothesis that Autism is a Unique Type of Mercury Poisoning[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Kirby, David (2006). Evidence of Harm. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 142. ISBN 9780312326456.
  10. ^ Adams, J. B.; Baral, M.; Geis, E.; Mitchell, J.; Ingram, J.; Hensley, A.; Zappia, I.; Newmark, S.; Gehn, E.; Rubin, R. A.; Mitchell, K.; Bradstreet, J.; El-Dahr, J. (2009). "Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: Part A - Medical results". BMC Clinical Pharmacology. 9: 16. doi:10.1186/1472-6904-9-16. PMC 2774660. PMID 19852789.
  11. ^ Adams, J. B.; Baral, M.; Geis, E.; Mitchell, J.; Ingram, J.; Hensley, A.; Zappia, I.; Newmark, S.; Gehn, E.; Rubin, R. A.; Mitchell, K.; Bradstreet, J.; El-Dahr, J. (2009). "Safety and efficacy of oral DMSA therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders: Part B - Behavioral results". BMC Clinical Pharmacology. 9: 17. doi:10.1186/1472-6904-9-17. PMC 2770991. PMID 19852790.
  12. ^ "Chelation Therapy Drug Found Safe and Beneficial for Children With Autism". Autism Research Institute. 5 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  13. ^ Pieces of the Puzzle. Autism Research Institute. 4 March 2009.
  14. ^ Urbaszewski, Katie (2010-05-10). "Local baseball league gives special needs children the opportunity to hit a home run". NOLA.com.