Michael Manyak, MD, RESD ’85, former interim chair of the Department of Urology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, recently passed away in May, he was 73 years old.
In addition to his years serving at GW, Manyak was the chief medical advisor for crisis response for Accenture, a global professional services company; the global medical affairs director for GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company; chief medical officer of Triple Canopy, a private security company; and founder of Metastatin Pharmaceuticals, purchased by Samaritan Pharmaceuticals. He also was a noted expert in backcountry medicine, member of The Explorers Club, National Eagle Scout Association vice president, and Distinguished Eagle Scout.
Manyak held 11 patents and has published nearly 200 professional abstracts, book chapters, and refereed journal articles.
In 2000, Manyak directed medical services for 40 scientists and restoration experts involved in the exploration of the cargo hold of the HMS Titanic. For the first time, explorers entered the Titanic via the cargo hold for the specific purpose of retrieving historic items. Manyak and several scientific colleagues from the Explorers Club, also had the opportunity to categorize some of the more than 28 new species they found in the deepwater environment.
His final book, “Take Two Aspirin and Call Me at 20,000 Feet: An Eagle Scout at the Crossroads of Medicine, Exploration, and Science,” will be released in September 2024 (Morgan James Publishing).
