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Mark Alden Crislip (born April 25, 1957) is an infectious disease doctor in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
and former chief of infectious diseases at
Legacy Health Legacy Health is a non-profit hospital system located in Portland, Oregon, United States. It consists of six primary-care hospitals, a children's hospital, and allied clinics and outpatient facilities. The system employs about 14,000 staff mem ...
hospital system. Crislip has generated three podcasts, ''QuackCast, PusCast, and Gobbet o' Pus.'' A writer for medicine-related blogs, he has compiled his blog posts into several books. He co-founded the Society for Science-Based Medicine and served as president from 2013 to 2019.


Biography

Crislip was born in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. He attended the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
from 1979 to 1983, where he earned a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
. He then earned a
Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...
(MD) degree at the
Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...
School of Medicine in 1983. He completed an
internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...
and
residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...
at
Hennepin County Medical Center Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and safety net hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 484-bed facility is on six city blocks across the street fro ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
in 1986, followed by a
fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...
at
Harbor–UCLA Medical Center Harbor–UCLA Medical Center is a 570-bed public teaching hospital located at 1000 West Carson Street in West Carson, an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County, California. The hospital is owned by Los Angeles County and operated by t ...
. He is currently a
board-certified Board certification is the process by which a physician, veterinarian, or other professional demonstrates a mastery of advanced knowledge and skills through written, oral, practical, or simulator-based testing. Certification bodies There are mor ...
infectious disease specialist at several medical centers in the Portland area.


Podcasts

Crislip was the producer and host of the podcasts ''QuackCast'' ''(2006–2019)'' and ''PusCast (2005–2021)''. His podcast ''Gobbet o' Pus'' was active as of 2022. For each episode of ''QuackCast,'' Crislip delivered a monologue about a topic related to medicine, usually a critique of an
alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
practice or set of beliefs. He was inspired to create his own science-based medicine show after listening to the ''Slacker Astronomy'' podcast. The first episode of ''QuackCast'' was released on 5 May 2006. The podcast won three
Podcast Awards The People's Choice Podcast Awards, better known as the Podcast Awards, are global awards given annually to the best podcasts as voted by the general public. Founded in 2005 by Todd Cochrane of Podcast Connect Inc., the Podcast Awards changed han ...
in the Health/Fitness category, for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Since 2009, Crislip has been producing the ''Gobbet o' Pus'' podcast which features short discussions of interesting cases he has encountered in his medical practice and other topics of interest to infectious disease specialists. ''PusCast'' (also known as ''Persiflagers Infectious Disease PusCast'') was a bimonthly review of the infectious disease literature that ceased in early 2021.


Writings

Crislip is listed as editor (emeritus) for the ''
Science-Based Medicine ''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society, and run by Steve ...
'' blog where he regularly wrote posts on investigating the claims of
alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...
until 2017. He is the co-editor, along with
Steven Novella Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American neurology, clinical neurologist and Professors in the United States#Associate Professor, associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement ...
and
David Gorski David Henry Gorski is an American surgical oncologist and professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He specializes in breast cancer surgery at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Gorski is an outspoken skeptic and critic ...
, of a 12-volume series of ''Science-Based Medicine Guides'', based on posts from the ''Science-Based Medicine'' blog. He writes posts for a
Medscape Medscape is a website providing access to medical information for clinicians and medical scientists; the organization also provides continuing education for physicians and other health professionals. It references medical journal articles, Con ...
blog called ''Rubor, Dolor, Calor, Tumor''. Crislip compiled selections from his blogs into two
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
s titled ''Puswhisperer: A Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doc'' (2014), and ''Puswhisperer Part Deux: Another Year of Pus'' (2016), He is also the author of a medical app for
Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...
and
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
called ''Infectious Disease Compendium: A Guide to Infectious Diseases''. ''Skeptic'' magazine published an article by Crislip in 2008 titled "Near Death Experiences and the Medical Literature," in which he criticized a '' Lancet'' article that reported on
near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death, which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompa ...
s without considering all the physiological factors that may have accounted for patients' subjective experiences.


Other activities

Crislip was the president and co-founder of the Society for Science-Based Medicine (SfSBM), a nonprofit education and advocacy group. From 2013 to 2019, the SfSBM educated medical professionals and the general public about the importance of basing medical practices on science and advocated for laws to support the use of science in medicine. The organization's website included a
wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...
-based repository of material about questionable medical practices from
Stephen Barrett Stephen Joel Barrett (; born 1933) is an American retired psychiatrist, author, and consumer advocate best known for his work combatting health fraud and promoting evidence-based medicine. He founded Quackwatch, a network of websites that cri ...
's
Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website focused on promoting consumer protection and providing information about health related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. It primarily targets alternative medicine, questionable health cl ...
website. He is a founding fellow of the Institute for Science in Medicine, a
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
educational and policy institute that promotes science-based medical practices. Several organizations that promote science and skepticism have invited Crislip lecture on alternative medicine and the
anti-vaccine movement Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...
. He has spoken at
The Amaz!ng Meeting The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored by the James Randi Educ ...
three times, most recently in 2013. In June 2010 he gave a talk called "The Vaccine Pseudo-Controversy" for the
Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a U.S. nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal and to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 1991 by ...
Portland. In November 2013 he spoke at a meeting of Oregonians for Science and Reason on the topic of "Supplement, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Myths." He was also a featured speaker at the QED Conference in
Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in April 2014. Crislip is credited with an oft-cited quote critical of
integrative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices ar ...
: "If you integrate fantasy with reality, you do not instantiate reality. If you mix cow pie with
apple pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...
, it does not make the cow pie taste better; it makes the apple pie worse."


Awards

Crislip has been on the Top Docs list published by ''
Portland Monthly ''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...
'' magazine several times, most recently in 2014. '' U.S. News & World Report'' listed him as a Top U.S. Physician in 2012. Hospital residents named him " Attending Most Likely to Tell It Like It Is."


Books

* ''Puswhisperer 4: A Fourth Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doctor'' (2020) * ''Puswhisperer III: A Third Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doctor'' (2018) * ''Puswhisperer II: Another Year of Pus'' (2015) * ''Puswhisperer: A Year in the Life of an Infectious Disease Doctor'' (2014)


References


External links


Crislip's Homepage

Society for Science-Based Medicine Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crislip, Mark American skeptics American health and wellness podcasters American male bloggers American bloggers Living people 1957 births Physicians from Portland, Oregon University of Oregon alumni Physicians from Cleveland Oregon Health & Science University alumni American critics of alternative medicine