My research is on the pathways and mechanisms of disposition of toxic metals in the body. An understanding at the cellular level of how metals cross diffusion barriers in the body will give insight into the mechanisms of toxic action, on factors that influence their toxicity, and may lead to the development of effective methods of removing metals from the body.

       Current research in my laboratory is testing the hypothesis that mercury crosses cell membranes as a complex with sulfur containing amino acids or peptides. Such complexes obtain a "free ride'' on transport carriers used by structurally similar endogenous substrates.

Clarkson TW, Magos L. 2006. The toxicology of mercury and its chemical compounds. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2006 Sep;36(8):609-662. Review.

Davidson PW, Myers GJ, Cox C, Wilding GE, Shamlaye CF, Huang LS, Cernichiari E, Sloane-Reeves J, Palumbo D, Clarkson TW. 2006. Methylmercury and neurodevelopment: longitudinal analysis of the Seychelles child development cohort. Neurotoxicol Teratol. Sep-Oct;28(5):529-535.

Magos L, Clarkson TW. 2006. Overview of the clinical toxicity of mercury. Ann Clin Biochem. Jul;43(Pt 4):257-268. Review.

van Wijngaarden E, Beck C, Shamlaye CF, Cernichiari E, Davidson PW, Myers GJ, Clarkson TW. 2006. Benchmark concentrations for methyl mercury obtained from the 9-year follow-up of the Seychelles Child Development Study. Neurotoxicology. 2006 Jun 2; [Epub ahead of print] /P>

McCabe MJ Jr, Eckles KG, Langdon M, Clarkson TW, Whitekus MJ, and Rosenspire AJ. 2005. Attenuation of CD95-induced apoptosis by inorganic mercury: caspase-3 is not a direct target of low levels of Hg2+. Toxicol Lett. Jan 15;155(1):161-170.

Huang LS, Cox C, Myers GJ, Davidson PW, Cernichiari E, Shamlaye CF, Sloane-Reeves J, and Clarkson TW. 2005. Exploring nonlinear association between prenatal methylmercury exposure from fish consumption and child development: evaluation of the Seychelles Child Development Study nine-year data using semiparametric additive models. Environ Res. Jan;97(1):100-108.

Clarkson TW, Magos L, and Myers GJ. 2003. The toxicology of mercury—current exposures and clinical manifestations. N Engl J Med. Oct 30;349(18):1731-1737. [Review. No abstract.]

Huang LS, Cox C, Wilding GE, Myers GJ, Davidson PW, Shamlaye CF, Cernichiari E, Sloane-Reeves J, and Clarkson TW. 2003. Using measurement error models to assess effects of prenatal and postnatal methylmercury exposure in the Seychelles Child Development Study. Environ Res. Oct;93(2):115-122.

Myers GJ, Davidson PW, Cox C, Shamlaye CF, Palumbo D, Cernichiari E, Sloane-Reeves J, Wilding GE, Kost J, Huang LS, and Clarkson TW. 2003. Prenatal methylmercury exposure from ocean fish consumption in the Seychelles child development study. Lancet. May 17;361(9370):1686-1692.

Clarkson TW, and Strain JJ. 2003. Nutritional factors may modify the toxic action of methyl mercury in fish-eating populations. J Nutr. May;133(5 Suppl 1):1539S-1543S. Review.

Weiss B, Clarkson TW, and Simon W. 2002. Silent latency periods in methylmercury poisoning and in neurodegenerative disease. Environ Health Perspect. Oct;110 Suppl 5:851-854. Review.

Simmons-Willis TA, Koh AS, Clarkson TW, and Ballatori N. 2002. Transport of a neurotoxicant by molecular mimicry: the methylmercury-L-cysteine complex is a substrate for human L-type large neutral amino acid transporter (LAT) 1 and LAT2. Biochem J. Oct 1;367(Pt 1):239-246.

Clarkson TW. 2002. The three modern faces of mercury. Environ Health Perspect. Feb;110 Suppl 1:11-23. [Review]