Nutrition for Optimal Health Association, Inc.

William J. Walsh, Ph.D.

William J. Walsh is a scientist with more than 30 years of research experience. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1958, he went on to earn a masters degree at the University of Michigan and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University.

Before founding the Health Research Institute in 1982 and, subsequently the Pfeiffer Treatment Center in 1989, Dr. Walsh worked for some of the most prestigious scientific institutions in the country, including: Institute for Atomic Research (Ames, IA); Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM); University of Michigan Research Institute (Ann Arbor, MI); Savannah River hydrogen bomb plant near Aiken, SC; and Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, IL). Dr. Walsh spent 22 years as a researcher in nuclear fuel processing, liquid metal distillation, and electrochemistry.

Over the past 25 years, Dr. Walsh and colleagues have evaluated hair chemistry data from over 100,000 individuals and developed the world's first hair standard of known composition. Walsh has performed more than 25 forensic studies of hair samples in collaboration with medical examiners, coroners, and police groups. These studies include chemical evaluations of Charles Manson, Henry Lee Lucas, James Huberty (McDonald's massacre), William Sherrill (Oklahoma post office slayings), and other notorious criminals.

Dr. Walsh's interest in biochemical disorders began as a result of his volunteer work with inmates at the Statesville Penitentiary in Joliet, IL, where he organized the Prisoner Assistance Program that included more than 100 volunteers. He was named "Prison Volunteer of the Year" of Metropolitan Chicago in 1983. This work led Dr. Walsh and other Argonne volunteers to initiate scientific research that indicated a biochemical predisposition to behavior disorders. That research formed the basis of the diagnostic and treatment protocols being used at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Warrenville, IL. The non-profit Center has provided individualized nutrient therapy to more than 14,000 patients with behavior disorders, ADHD, learning problems, autism, depression, and schizophrenia.

Dr. Walsh has authored more than 200 scientific articles and reports and made numerous presentations on his research. He has presented HRI's research findings at the American Psychiatric Association, the U.S. Senate, the Society of Neuroscience, NAMI, and the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Walsh presently serves as Chief Scientist of the Health Research Institute and Pfeiffer Treatment Center.