Mark H. Beers, M.D.

Dr. Beers received his MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and trained in internal medicine at The New England Medical Center, Boston, and Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.  He then completed a fellowship in geriatric medicine at Harvard Medical School before becoming an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCLA in the Division of Geriatrics. 

Dr. Beers' research and practice has focused on improving the use of medications in the elderly.  He has published over 45 articles and book chapters about medication use in the elderly and lectures widely on the topic. Much of his research has focused on methods to make prescribers more aware of the clinical issues involved in prescribing to the elderly and to alter their prescribing behavior.  He has published eight books as author or editor.

Prior to his recent retirement as Editor-in-Chief, The Merck Manuals, and Executive Director of Geriatrics and Clinical Literature at Merck, Dr. Beers was responsible for supporting geriatric programs at Merck and taught geriatrics at Drexel Medical School. He was elected a Fellow in both the American College of Physicians and the Gerontological Society of America and  either serves or recently served on the Board of  Directors of The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Research and Education Foundation, The American Federation for Aging Research, and The National Council on Aging.  He is past President of The American Foundation for Aging Research (2004-2006), and, until 2006, was Opera Critic for The Philadelphia Weekly.

Dr. Beers currently serves as Adjunct Professor in Public Health at University of the Sciences of Philadelphia and Professor of Medicine at Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.