‘Rare in His Brilliance’: Tribute to Dr. Mark Geier — Advocate for Vaccine Safety and Autistic Children

Dr. Geier’s work helped lead to the replacement of the whole-cell DTP vaccine with the much safer acellular DTaP vaccine now in use. He also discovered a link between mercury exposure from thimerosal in vaccines and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders — a discovery that changed the course of his life.

By Rev. Lisa K. Sykes

Dr. Mark Robin Geier, 76, an internationally known vaccinologist and vaccine safety advocate, died March 20 in Jupiter, Florida.

Dr. Geier’s work helped lead to the replacement of the whole-cell DTP vaccine with the much safer acellular DTaP vaccine now in use, sparing countless children adverse and disabling reactions to the whole-cell pertussis component of the older vaccine.

In the course of his research, Dr. Geier discovered a link between mercury exposure from thimerosal in vaccines and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. The discovery changed the course of his life.

Together with his son David Geier, Dr. Geier was a leading proponent of the theory that mercury in childhood vaccines is associated with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

In keeping with the high medical ethics he had always demonstrated, this discovery spurred Dr. Geier to advocate for urgent reforms in vaccine safety for the sake of the vaccine program and the children alike.

With their focus on mercury, Dr. Geier and his son made major advances in understanding the biochemical and hormonal anomalies in autism. The father-son team developed a revolutionary new treatment for autism that has resulted in dramatic improvement in hundreds of children with autism.

They published numerous works on their discoveries, spoke around the world, and participated in the United Nations Environment Programme, arguing that the resulting Minamata Convention should protect children worldwide from unnecessary mercury exposure through their vaccines.

Dr. Geier was involved in the evaluation and treatment of more than 1,000 patients diagnosed with autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Due to his commitment to making vaccines safer by eliminating their mercury content, Dr. Geier suffered public and professional attacks. Nonetheless, he stalwartly pursued the goal of safer mercury-free vaccines until his death.

Dr. Geier’s extensive scientific and medical research resulted in his being invited to address the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences on six occasions.

In addition, he was invited to provide expert testimony to the Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also invited to address the U.S. State Department Foreign Service Institute. Dr. Geier also presented to the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Author of over 200 peer-reviewed academic articles, book chapters, publications

Dr. Geier received a B.S. in zoology from the George Washington University, and subsequently, undertook graduate studies in the Department of Human Genetics and Development at Columbia University, New York.

He returned to the George Washington University, where he completed his Ph.D. in genetics and, later received an M.D. from the George Washington University.

He was an intern and fellow in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, an assistant professor in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and an assistant research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Rare in his brilliance, Mark’s achievements are too lengthy to list in full. But, among his accolades are his standing as a:

• Diplomat of American Board of Medical Genetics.
• Associate Founding Member of the American College of Medical Genetics.
• Fellow of the American College of Genetics, and a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology.
• Member of the Society of the Sigma Xi.
• Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners of the United States of America.
• Member of the American Fertility Society.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Geier was a member of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Medical Society. During his tenure, he was selected to be on the board of and a delegate to the Maryland State Medical Society and served on numerous committees within the Maryland State Medical Society.

In clinical practice for more than 30 years, Dr. Geier co-founded one of the first private prenatal genetic practices in the U.S., developing and offering landmark genetic evaluations to more than 25,000 patients.

He also held positions as the laboratory director of Molecular Medicine Inc., the director of genetics for the Maryland Medical Laboratory Inc., and a research scientist in the Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, for 10 years.

Dr. Geier’s pioneering research at the National Institutes of Health in the molecular biology areas of genetics and immunology was published in such prestigious, peer-reviewed academic journals as Nature, Science and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Additionally, Dr. Geier’s research received international media coverage with feature articles in Newsweek, Time Magazine, The New York Times, and many other publications.

Dr. Geier published more than 200 peer-reviewed academic articles, book chapters, and other publications. He co-authored a paper in Nature on the first successful genetic engineering experiment in human cells, for which he was personally congratulated by the president of the United States.

He was lead author of a Nature paper reporting the discovery that the spleen plays a major role in immune responses.

When not pursuing scientific inquiry, Dr. Geier often found on the tennis court

No remembrance of Dr. Geier would be complete without noting how he brought the same brilliance, strategy and determination to the rest of his life as he did to his medical and research careers.

When not pursuing scientific inquiry, Dr. Geier was often found on the tennis court.

Over his tennis career, Dr. Geier amassed an amazing total in Middle Atlantic history of 129 Middle Atlantic Tennis Association sectional rankings, likely second only to his wife Anne.

Even more remarkable, he amassed a total of 94 Middle Atlantic Tennis Association sectional section rankings in the top three. All told, he was ranked number one in Middle Atlantic Tennis Association sectional rankings a total of 53 times. A career highlight for Mark in the Middle Atlantic Tennis Association included achieving the only “Grand Slam of Mixed Doubles” in the history of the Middle Atlantic Tennis Association by being ranked number one in all of the Mixed Doubles in one year.

Dr. Geier also had success at the United States Tennis Association National level, being ranked in the top 10 of several men’s doubles divisions and No. 1 in the USTA in Husband & Wife Doubles in 1977.

In addition to tennis, Mark was nationally ranked on many occasions in table tennis. He also played tournament duplicate bridge. When he achieved the American Contract Bridge League ranking of bridge master before age 12, he was the youngest person to ever achieve this ranking at the time. He eventually achieved the American Contract Bridge League ranking of Bronze Life Master.

Because Dr. Geier was unwavering, in all he did, not only his patients who called him by name, but children the world over, who may never even know his name, will know greater health and receive safer vaccines.

In this life, Dr. Geier could achieve no victory greater than this.

Mark was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Anne, and his parents, Charles and Clara. He is survived by his son, research colleague and tennis partner, David.

If you wish to remember Dr. Geier in a tangible way, donations may be made in his memory to the non-profit 501(c)(3): Institute of Chronic Illnesses Inc., 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20905.

Rev. Lisa K. Sykes is a retired United Methodist minister, having served the Virginia Annual Conference for 34 years. She and her husband, Seth, have three sons. Their middle child, Wesley, was diagnosed with multiple metal toxicity due to thetherapeutic use of vaccines. An advocate since discovering Wesley was poisoned with mercury, Lisa has contributed to Dr. Mark Geier’s articles, addressed the Institute of Medicine and the UN Environment Programme, and authored, together with Mark and David Geier a book, “Sacred Spark,” the story of seeking healing for her son while lighting a flame of reform. She and her family live in Virginia.