Michael E. Pichichero is an American physician who is the Director of the Rochester General Hospital Research Institute, a Research Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the

University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and pat ...

. He is the author of a number of scientific studies regarding the safety of

thimerosal Thiomersal (INN), or thimerosal (USAN, JAN), is an organomercury compound. It is a well-established antiseptic and antifungal agent. The pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly and Company gave thiomersal the trade name Merthiolate. It has been u ...

as a preservative in vaccines.

Biography

Pichichero received his undergraduate degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, and his medical degree from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

. He did post graduate training at the University of Colorado, Denver. He completed fellowships in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Adult and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the University of Rochester, NY.

Scientific career

Pichichero's studies say that ethylmercury, the metabolite of thimerosal, is rapidly metabolized and excreted after administration of thimerosal-containing vaccines, as well as that administration thereof does not raise blood mercury levels above the

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

's lower limit. In addition, his research has concluded that ethylmercury is metabolized about six times as fast as

methylmercury Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...

(the kind of mercury found in fish), and that the former has a blood half-life of about 3.7 days whereas the latter has a half-life of 44 days. His research says that after children receive a vaccine with thimerosal in it, their blood mercury levels return to normal within only a month. Pichichero has written a textbook about

streptococcal pharyngitis Streptococcal pharyngitis, also known as streptococcal sore throat (strep throat), is pharyngitis (an infection of the pharynx, the back of the throat) caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a gram-positive, group A streptococcus. Common symptom ...

. A board-certified immunologist, he was on the team of scientists at the University of Rochester who invented the

Hib vaccine The ''Haemophilus influenzae'' type B vaccine, also known as Hib vaccine, is a vaccine used to prevent ''Haemophilus influenzae'' type b (Hib) infection. In countries that include it as a routine vaccine, rates of severe Hib infections have d ...

. His more recent research, however, has focused on ear infections and their treatment with

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

Selected publications

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References

External links

Mercury in Childhood Vaccines Excreted Quickly

Babies excrete vaccine-mercury quicker than originally thought
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichichero, Michael Living people University of Rochester faculty Thiomersal and vaccines American pediatricians University of Rochester alumni Year of birth missing (living people)