On March 11, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution by unanimous vote that commends Paul Marik, MD, one of the world’s leading critical care physicians, for his distinguished career and courageous life-saving work during the COVID-19 pandemic. HR 228 recognizes Dr. Marik for “his courageous treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients and his philanthropic efforts to share his effective treatment protocols with physicians around the world.” Virginia legislators occasionally honor members of the Commonwealth for their service and contributions to the state of Virginia through Commending Resolutions. According to Delegate Dave LaRock (R-33), the chief patron of the resolution honoring Dr. Marik, not only did many legislators vote for the resolution, they also added their names as co-patrons. “I am thrilled to see Paul get the recognition he deserves for his leadership and unmatched contributions to medicine. I have been honored to call him my colleague and friend in the past two years,” said Dr. Pierre Kory, president and chief medical officer of the FLCCC. “He has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to save countless lives while overcoming unwarranted barriers, criticisms, and even threats from colleagues, institutions and his employer.”
Dr. Marik has held several appointments at medical schools in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, eventually settling at East Virginia Medical School in 2009, where he ascended to become professor of medicine and chief of pulmonary and critical care. At the same time, Dr. Marik was the director of the ICU at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. In a recent statement recognizing Dr. Marik’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Delegate LaRock said, “Instead of playing it safe, and going along with so-called conventional wisdom, Dr. Marik dared to take a truly scientific approach by questioning and innovating in an environment where both were not only frowned upon, but for which he was persecuted. To the great benefit of Virginia and humanity, Dr. Marik persevered, determined to serve his patients and advance medical care around the world by his work and teaching.”
“Virginia has been my home for more than a decade and I am truly honored to be recognized in this way,” said Marik. “I want to thank Delegate LaRock and the members of the House of Delegates for everything they have done and are doing to protect the practice of medicine in our state.”
A pioneer in the practice of critical care, Dr. Marik is responsible for developing several protocols that have been used around the world to save the lives of countless people. Prior to co-founding the FLCCC, Dr. Marik was best known for his revolutionary work in developing a lifesaving protocol for sepsis, a condition that causes more than 250,000 deaths yearly in the U.S. alone. Dr. Marik’s career in medicine began in 1989 when he was an attending physician and assistant professor and Associate Director ICU in the Department of Intensive Care at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. In 1992, Dr. Marik began his career in the United States as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Associate Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Detroit Receiving Hospital and Wayne State University, Michigan. After several appointments at medical schools in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions in the U.S., Dr. Marik settled at EVMS in 2009. Throughout his career Dr. Marik has been dedicated to medical research, publishing over 460 papers in peer-reviewed journals worldwide. In 2004 Dr. Marik was ranked 18th Leading Critical Care Investigator, as measured by number of publications between 1997 and August 2003. In 2009, Dr. Marik became a professor of medicine, chief division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at East Virginia Medical School, where he earned tenure in 2014.
