In 1964, Dr. Marik undertook initial medical training in oncology at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. He took his internship at Passavant Memorial Hospital at Northwestern University in Chicago (1965-1966) and his residency in Ob/Gyn (1966 – 1969) University of Chicago’s Chicago Lying In Hospital.
Through his steadfast relationship with the late Dr. Edward Tyler, Dr. Marik focused on obstetrics and surgical gynecology. He became expert in gynecological laparoscopic surgery in Chicago and brought this expertise to Los Angeles. In 1969, Dr. Marik joined the surgical staff at Saint John’s Health Center and introduced laparoscopic technique to other gynecologists and general surgeons as well as teaching laparoscopy to residents and fellows.
Dr. Marik was the Medical Director of the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Genetic Testing, an affiliate of the The Tyler Medical Clinic. He joined the Tyler Medical Clinic in 1971, and prior to that, he completed his training in obstetrics and gynecology and worked in various research institutions. He also undertook specialized training in abdominal surgery.
Using previous training and experience, he was one of the first physicians in Southern California to perform diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopy. In 1972, he became a founding member of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists. He was one of the first physicians in the world to perform hysteroscopic examination of the uterus. In the early 70’s, he also benefited by preceptorship in microscopical infertility surgery.
In the mid-1980’s, he became a charter member of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons, a branch of the American Fertility Society. He quickly established himself as an expert in the surgical treatment of infertility. He became a Director and Board Member of the International Human Society for Photoscopy, the International Society of Human Reproduction, the Fallopius International Society and a member of various other professional associations.
He established the In Vitro Fertilization program at Tyler Medical Clinic in 1983, which was the second such program in the western United States, and turned his attention to assisted reproductive technology, specifically to in vitro fertilization (IVF), GIFT and PGD procedures. His international colleagues included pioneers in reproductive medicine like Dr. Patrick Steptoe, who shared his development of the IVF procedure with Dr. Marik to bring to the US. In the late 1980’s, he was the second physician in the United States to successfully perform the GIFT procedure in connection with IVF and later expanded these advanced reproductive techniques to include egg donation to sterile women and gestational surrogacy. Successful conception of a patient without ovarian function was the third of its kind reported in this country, and the Tyler Medical Clinic was also the third institution to produce a pregnancy through the use of a gestational surrogacy.