The Manuals Staff
Content last modified Aug 2026
DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Monica R. Curtis, MD, MPH
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA;
Instructor of Medicine, part-time, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Physician, Rheumatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
PHYSICIAN EDITORS
Jeremy M. Archer, MD, MS
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
Sairaman Nagarajan, MD, MPH
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine (Adjunct), State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University
Erin V. Santa, MD, FAAD
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
EDITORIAL STAFF
Karen T. Albright
Joanne P. Christopher
Crystal G. Norris
Susan C. Short
Michelle A. Steigerwald
PUBLISHING AND PRODUCTION STAFF
Michael DeFerrari
Jennifer Doyle
Vahe Grigoryan
Caroline Harvey
Ahmad Ibrahim
Brian Konrad
Jamie Poole
Sheryl Olinsky Borg
MARKETING AND BRAND AWARENESS STAFF
Adeyemi P. Adegoke
Leta S. Bracy
Kayla Marie Farrer
Keith Guse
Rucha Vyas
PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTORS
Christopher C. Butts
David Goldmann, MD
Bram Greenberg, MD
H. Nancy Sokol, MD
Rebecca Vasquez, MD
THE MANUALS' EDITORIAL PROCESS
The Manual is committed to transparency, human oversight, and providing accurate, evidence-based information, which is why the medical content in the Manual is written by physicians and other qualified medical experts and undergoes rigorous editorial and peer-review. AI does not write or determine the medical recommendations, diagnoses, or treatment information contained in the Manual.
The Manuals' content is generated following the same process as the most respected medical textbooks and journals. The steps include an
- External author
- External peer reviewer
- External pharmacologist reviewer
- Internal physician editor
- Internal medical writer
- Editor-in-Chief
- Executive editor
- Final review and revision by author
Our over 300 independent authors, all of whom are experts in their field, prepare the content of their chapters and pass it on to one or more of the 26 independent medical peer reviewers on the MSD Manual Editorial Board and review staff. The peer reviewers, who are authorities in their respective specialty and not otherwise connected to MSD, review the content to ensure that it is complete, accurate, and unbiased; when necessary, they request additions or corrections to the author's material. After peer review, an expert pharmacologist outside of MSD reviews drug dosage and recommendations to ensure accuracy. After these external steps, the Manuals' internal editorial staff of physicians and trained medical writers review the content to see whether any material (including multimedia and external links) should be added, deleted, or revised to make it clearer for non-specialist health care professionals (Professional Version) and consumers (Consumer Version). In addition, all of The Manuals' internal editors edit the content to ensure it meets the clarity and style standards for which The Manuals have long been known.