George W. Beran, a native of Riceville, Iowa, received his D.V.M. (1954) from Iowa State College (University). After graduating, he worked for two years as an epidemic intelligence officer with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He went on to earn his Ph.D. (1959) in medical microbiology from the University of Kansas Medical School. Along with his wife Janice, Beran moved to the Philippines to serve as a Christian missionary in 1960. During his time in the Philippines, he established the Van Houweling Laboratory for Microbiological Research at the Silliman Medical Center at Silliman University. At Silliman, Beran developed procedures to diagnose and treat cases of rabies contracted through dog bites. He developed a rabies vaccine for dogs that virtually eliminated rabies in parts of the Philippines. Silliman University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters. After thirteen years as professor and researcher at Silliman University, Beran moved back to the United States in 1973 to begin his teaching career at Iowa State University.



A popular professor at Iowa State University, Beran received the Distinguished Teacher Award in Veterinary Medicine (1975) from Iowa State and the American Food Hygiene Veterinarians selected him for the Outstanding Teacher of Veterinary Food Hygiene Award (1978). In 1979, Beran was awarded the International Award of the World Veterinary Epidemiology Society in Moscow, Russia, for his work in the epidemiology of diseases transmitted from animals to people, particularly in the field of rabies. Again, in 1980, he was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by Iowa State. That same year, he and his wife traveled to Nigeria as Fulbright-Hays Scholars.



Beran retired in 1998 at the age of 70 after teaching at Iowa State University for twenty-five years. Even after his retirement from teaching, Beran remained active, continuing to serve as coordinator for Iowa State University in the Food Safety Consortium, as chair for the USDA's technical advisory group, which was working to revise slaughter inspections, as a member of the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods, and also working with the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Public Health. Along with veterinarian Linda Schlater, Beran raised funds for and created the R. Allen Packer Veterinary Heritage Room, the Iowa State University Museum of Veterinary Medicine, in 2002. In 2004, Beran received the Sustainable Agriculture Award from the Practical Farmers of Iowa.