Mark R. Geier (born 1948) is an American former physician and controversial professional witness who testified in more than 90 cases regarding allegations of injury or illness caused by vaccines. Since 2011, Geier's medical license has been suspended or revoked in every state in which he was licensed over concerns about his

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

treatments and his misrepresentation of his credentials to the Maryland Board of Health, where he falsely claimed to be a board-certified geneticist and epidemiologist. Mark and his son David are frequently cited by proponents of the now-discredited claim that vaccines cause autism. Geier's credibility as an expert witness has been questioned in 10 court cases. In 2003, a judge ruled that Geier presented himself as an expert witness in "areas for which he has no training, expertise and experience." In other cases in which Geier has testified, judges have labeled his testimony "intellectually dishonest," "not reliable" and "wholly unqualified." Another judge wrote that Geier "may be clever, but he is not credible." Geier's scientific work has also been criticized; when the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

reviewed vaccine safety in 2004, it dismissed Geier's work as seriously flawed, "uninterpretable", and marred by incorrect use of scientific terms. In 2003, the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was found ...

criticized one of Geier's studies, which claimed a link between vaccines and autism, as containing "numerous conceptual and scientific flaws, omissions of fact, inaccuracies, and misstatements." In January 2007, a paper by the Geiers was retracted by the journal ''Autoimmunity Reviews''. ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

'' reported that the supposed

institutional review board An institutional review board (IRB), also known as an independent ethics committee (IEC), ethical review board (ERB), or research ethics board (REB), is a committee that applies research ethics by reviewing the methods proposed for research to ...

(IRB) that Geier claimed approved his experiments with autistic children was located at Geier's business address and included Geier, his son and wife, a business partner of Geier's, and a plaintiff's lawyer involved in vaccine litigation. The Maryland State Board of Physicians referred to it as a "sham IRB" that did not meet the requirements of state or federal law.

Career

Geier worked at the Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U ...

in the 1970s and 1980s as a student researcher (1969–1970), research geneticist (1971–1973), staff fellow (1973–1974), on the professional staff (1974–1978), and as a guest worker (1980–1982). He has been examining vaccine safety issues since then. He is a Fellow of the

American College of Medical Genetics The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) is an organization composed of biochemical, clinical, cytogenetic, medical and molecular geneticists, genetic counselors and other health care professionals committed to the practice of ...

. He is currently a self-employed geneticist and along with his son David, he operates several organizations from his private address in Maryland, including the Institute for Chronic Illness and the Genetic Centers of America. As a professional witness he has testified in more than 90 vaccine cases, in support of the view that there is a clear link between thiomersal and autism. His credibility as an expert witness has been criticized during many proceedings before the Special Masters. In a 2010 decision, the presiding legal authority wrote, "In summary, I conclude that all of the Geier epidemiologic studies are not reliable, and cannot be accorded any weight."

Controversies

Geier and his son have published several speculative articles about a possible link between

autism spectrum disorder The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

s and vaccines that contain

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 ...

, generating some controversy. The

dispute the conclusion of the Geiers' paper claiming a correlation between thimerosal and autism, and criticized it for "numerous conceptual and scientific flaws, omissions of fact, inaccuracies, and misstatements".

Limited access to Vaccine Safety Datalink records

The Geiers were granted access to the Vaccine Safety Datalink records,Warning letter re: Dr. Mark Geier.
Casewatch.net. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. but the National Immunization Program found that "during the first visit the researchers conducted unapproved analysis on their datasets and on the second visit attempted to carry out unapproved analyses but did not complete this attempt. This analysis, had it been completed, could have increased the risk of a

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

breach. Before leaving, the researchers renamed files for removal which were not allowed to be removed. Had it gone undetected, this would have constituted a breach of the rules about confidentiality."

Lupron

The Geiers have developed a protocol for treating autism that uses the drug

Lupron Leuprorelin, also known as leuprolide, is a manufactured version of a hormone used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, as part of transgender hormone therapy, for early puberty, or to perform chemical castr ...

, which acts as

chemical castration Chemical castration is castration via anaphrodisiac drugs, whether to reduce libido and sexual activity, to treat cancer, or otherwise. Unlike surgical castration, where the gonads are removed through an incision in the body,

. Mark Geier has called Lupron "the miracle drug" and the Geiers have marketed the protocol across the U.S. The Geiers filed three U.S.

patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and rel ...

s on the use of Lupron in combination with

chelation therapy Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very specific medi ...

as a treatment protocol for autism based on the hypothesis that "

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteris ...

mercury" along with low levels of

glutathione Glutathione (GSH, ) is an antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea. Glutathione is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components caused by sources such as reactive oxygen species, free radicals, pe ...

blocks the conversion of

DHEA Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), also known as androstenolone, is an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. It is one of the most abundant circulating steroids in humans. DHEA is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain. It functio ...

to DHEA-S and therefore raises

androgens An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning "man") is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This in ...

which in turn further lower glutathione levels, ultimately providing a connection between autism, mercury exposure, and

hyperandrogenism Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens. It is more common in women than men. Symptoms of hyperandrogenism may include acne, seborrhea (inflamed skin), hair loss on the scalp, increased body or facial ...

, specifically

precocious puberty In medicine, precocious puberty is puberty occurring at an unusually early age. In most cases, the process is normal in every aspect except the unusually early age and simply represents a variation of normal development. In a minority of childre ...

.Methods for screening, studying and treating disorders with a component of mercurial toxicity
US

Patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and rel ...

20060058271, March 16, 2006Methods of treating disorders having a component of mercury toxicity
US

20060058241, March 16, 2006 According to expert pediatric endocrinologists, the Lupron protocol for autism is supported only by

junk science The expression junk science is used to describe scientific data, research, or analysis considered by the person using the phrase to be spurious or fraudulent. The concept is often invoked in political and legal contexts where facts and scientif ...

. The reaction of mercury and testosterone which the therapy is intended to treat is actually based on a protocol used to create testosterone crystals for use in

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angle ...

rather than a physiological process that occurs in the human body. Although

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...

sells Lupron in the U.S. and cooperated with the Geiers in one of the patent applications, it is no longer pursuing work with them, citing the nonexistence of scientific evidence to justify further research. When treating an autistic child, the Geiers order several dozen lab tests, costing $12,000: if at least one testosterone-related result is abnormal, the Geiers consider Lupron treatments, using 10 times the daily dose ordinarily used to treat precocious puberty. The therapy costs approximately $5,000 per month. The Geiers recommend starting treatment on children as young as possible, and say that some need treatment through adulthood.

Expert witness testimony

Geier has been qualified as an expert witness in Federal Court and has been accepted as an expert witness in approximately 100 hearings for parents seeking compensation from the

National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program The Office of Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, popularly known as "vaccine court", administers a no-fault system for litigating vaccine injury claims. These claims against vaccine manufacturers cannot normally be filed in st ...

for alleged vaccine injuries to their children. In 10 of these cases, "Dr. Geier's opinion testimony has either been excluded or accorded little or no weight based upon a determination that he was testifying beyond his expertise."John and Jane Doe v. Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc
", US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, July 6, 2006

Medical licenses revoked

On April 27, 2011, the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

State Board of Physicians suspended Geier's medical license as an "emergency action", saying he "endangers autistic children and exploits their parents by administering to the children a treatment protocol that has a known substantial risk of serious harm and which is neither consistent with evidence-based medicine nor generally accepted in the relevant scientific community." The board ruled that Geier misdiagnosed patients, diagnosed patients without sufficient tests, and recommended risky treatments without fully explaining the risks to the parents. They also ruled that he misrepresented his credentials, including during an interview with the board. Geier's lawyer, Joseph A. Schwartz III said the basis of the complaint was a "bona fide dispute over therapy", and hoped for a fair hearing to challenge the board's accusations. The suspension was reaffirmed in May 2011, and upheld on appeal in March 2012, after a full evidentiary hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings in Maryland. Geier's licenses to practice medicine in the states of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

were suspended as well. In June 2012, Geier was charged with violation of the Maryland suspension by continuing to practice medicine without a license. In August 2012, Geier's license was formally revoked by the Maryland State Board of Physicians. On 5 November 2012, the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Medical board and the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Department of Financial and Professional Regulation revoked Geier's license, both citing action taken by the Maryland State Board of Physicians. On April 12, 2013, Geier's last medical license in the United States was revoked by the state medical board of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. In 2011, his son David was charged by the Maryland State Board of Physicians with practicing as a licensed physician when he only has a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in biology, and was fined $10,000 in July 2012.

Lawsuit against Maryland Board of Physicians

On December 21, 2012, a lawsuit was filed against the

State Board of Physicians by Anne Geier. The claim made in the case 371761-V was that a cease and desist order filed by the

State Board of Physicians against Mark Geier, for prescribing medicine to his family after his license was suspended, was posted publicly on the Board's website disclosing their private medical information. The decision of the Board was upheld on appeal.https://www.gfrlaw.com/what-we-do/insights/maryland-board-physicians%E2%80%99-absolute-immunity

Personal life

Geier and his late wife Anne were the only doubles team to achieve a grand slam in the history of the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

's Mid-Atlantic Section division, as of their induction into the division's Hall of Fame in 2007. Their only son David is also an avid tennis player. Anne died of metastatic melanoma at age 67 in 2014.

Notes and references

External links

CaseWatch.net
– "Dr Mark Geier Severely Criticized", by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
IOM.edu
– Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism,

, May 17, 2004
Dr Mark Geier in error of magnitude
– Court report, June 25, 1990 {{DEFAULTSORT:Geier, Mark 1948 births 20th-century American physicians American geneticists American anti-vaccination activists Autism researchers George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Living people Physicians from Washington, D.C. Thiomersal and vaccines Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences faculty Autism pseudoscience Date of birth missing (living people)