Richard Eugene Frye is an American autism researcher and associate professor at Arizona Children's Hospital in Phoenix, and formerly of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences's department of pediatrics, as well as the Director of the Autism Multispecialty Clinic at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Frye was formerly a faculty member at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's division of child and adolescent neurology.

Education

Frye received his bachelor's degree from Long Island University C. W. Post Campus in 1986 in psychobiology. Five years later, he obtained his M.S. from

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

in biomedical science/biostatistics. Frye went on to obtain his PhD and MD degrees both in 1998, and both from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. From 1998 to 2000 Frye completed a residency in pediatrics at

Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital (also known as "Jackson" or abbreviated "MJMH") is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine, and the largest hospital in the United States with 1,5 ...

, before traveling to Children's Hospital Boston (CHB) to complete another residency, this time in pediatric neurology. After completing his residencies, he completed a research fellowship in behavioral neurology and learning disabilities, also at CHB, from 2003 to 2005. From 2004 to 2005 Frye completed another research fellowship, this time at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in psychology.

Research

Frye's most cited paper is one published in 1990, which studied the effects of cigarette smoking on the sense of smell. In fact, much of Frye's early research focused on olfaction. Frye's more recent research focuses on the potential environmental

causes of autism Many causes of autism have been proposed, but understanding of the theory of causation of autism and the other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is incomplete. Attempts have been made to incorporate the known genetic and environmental causes into ...

, as well as physiological abnormalities that have been observed in autistic individuals. Specifically, he and his co-authors, who include

Dan Rossignol Daniel A. Rossignol, MD, FAAFP, is a family medicine doctor. Rossignol runs the Rossignol Medical Center, with offices in Melbourne, Florida and in Aliso Viejo, California. He also works at the Wisconsin Integrative Hyperbaric Center in Fitchburg, ...

, have concluded that it is possible that autistic individuals suffer from

immune dysregulation Immune dysregulation is any proposed or confirmed breakdown or maladaptive change in molecular control of immune system processes. For example, dysregulation is a component in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and some cancers. Immune system d ...

and oxidative stress, as well as that

mitochondrial dysfunction Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy of ...

is more common in such individuals than in the general population. In addition, Frye's research has concluded that autism may be caused by exposure to toxicants. Frye has also published research on the use of dietary supplements as autism treatments, including

melatonin Melatonin is a natural product found in plants and animals. It is primarily known in animals as a hormone released by the pineal gland in the brain at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle. In vertebrates ...

and tetrahydrobiopterin, and recently coauthored a review regarding treatments for children with both autism and

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

s, which concluded that "limited evidence is available on the effectiveness of treatments for seizures in children with autism." However, Frye also said that this paper "...demonstrates that certain treatments could be beneficial for treating both autism symptoms and seizures at the same time." Another of Frye's studies concluded that many autistic children have abnormal levels of gut bacteria, and that these children exhibit abnormal energy metabolism as a result. Some have speculated that the results of this research "could create blood tests for early screening of the condition .e. autism" In 2016, Frye contributed the foreword to a medical memoir of autistic siblings with abnormal gut bacteria and related biomarkers.

Selected publications

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References

External links

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Interview at Cogent Benger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frye, Richard E. Autism researchers LIU Post alumni Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni Living people University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston faculty Year of birth missing (living people)