James B. Adams is a President's Professor at Arizona State University, where he directs the autism/Asperger's research program, though he originally taught chemical and materials engineering there.
[7] Adams has hypothesized that heavy metals, particularly cadmium and mercury,[8][9] may play a role in the pathogenesis of autism, and has advocated treatment with chelation therapy[10][11] and pioglitazone.
[12] Adams further contends that elevated testosterone levels are linked to the depletion of glutathione, which in turn results in increased susceptibility to toxic metals, citing a study published by Simon Baron-Cohen, which contains "major logical and factual flaws" according to some autism experts.
[13] Adams was on the scientific advisory board of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, a group that publicizes the purported dangers of dental amalgam[14] despite some evidence to the contrary.
[3] However, multiple sources, including a paper published in the medical journal Pediatrics, have noted major differences between the symptoms of mercury poisoning and those of autism.