William L. Epstein, M.D.
By Alfred Sung, D.C., Q.M.E.

While working for the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 1996, I met Dr. Epstein, the Chairman of the Department of Dermatology, and eventually learned that he was also a fellow graduate of Lowell High School in San Francisco.  Dr. Epstein was a distinguished physician, scientist, scholar and kind teacher who had a human touch and was fondly called “Dr. Bill” by friends, colleagues, and students. 

Though he was born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Epstein grew up and spent most of his life in San Francisco.  While he was at Lowell, not only was he an excellent athlete and earned Block L’s in both track and basketball, but he was also an outstanding student.  Dr. Epstein graduated in only 3 ½ years and earned membership in the California Scholarship Federation.

After Lowell, Dr. Epstein attended UC Berkeley for summer school in 1943, and was drafted into the U.S. Army.  He served as a Corporal in 143rd Division as part of the combat engineers and became a demolition expert to pick up bombs throughout Germany.  After the hostilities ended in Europe, he was transferred to the Philippines and was there with the end of World War II.

Dr. Epstein received his B.S. in 1949 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.D. from UCSF in 1952.  He interned at UCSF from 1952 to 1953, did his residency in dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1953 to 1956, and then began his post graduate academic career as an Instructor in the Department of Dermatology from1956.  He became an Assistant Professor in 1957 to start a research laboratory in the Division of Dermatology at UCSF.  He was the Chairman of the Department of Dermatology from 1974 to 1985.  After stepping down as chairman, he continued his research activities, taught students of different levels, and consulted in the Melanoma Clinic which he had helped establish in the department.

Dr. Epstein received many “Honors,” including being elected to the Phi Beta Kappa organization as an undergraduate and to the Sigma Xi Organization during his graduate training.  He was elected as an honorary member of various dermatological organizations around the world and was invited to give frequent “Named Lectures” internationally. 

He trained a considerable number of graduate students at UCSF, with a handful of whom went on to distinguished dermatology careers in the United States and abroad.  Students and researchers from England, Italy, Finland, Korea, Japan, Poland, and other countries came to work in Dr. Epstein’s laboratory and established excellent global communications. The emperor of Japan awarded Dr. Epstein the Kunsho - Order of the Rising Sun medal in 1996 for his contributions to medical in Japan.  Dr. Epstein was a teacher of not only dermatology but also world communication and collaboration.

Dr. Epstein made innumerable public service contributions and served in multiple leadership positions including the Dermatology Foundation, Skin Disease Research Foundation (SDRF), National Psoriasis Foundation, National Program for Dermatology, Pacific Skin Research Club (PSRC), among many others.  He worked with the California Forestry Service and the military to develop a topical barrier against poison oak and poison ivy in the mid-1980s.  He also established UCSF's melanoma clinic and was among those who studied the first patients with skin lesions later found to be Kaposi's sarcoma, a harbinger of the immunosuppressive disease AIDS. 

As a teacher, Dr. Epstein was articulate and had and eloquent style of lectures and writing, which I have often times tried to imitate.  While attending international conferences at the PSRC meetings in 1997 at London, England, and in 1999 at Taipei, Taiwan, I saw that as his usual casual self, Dr. Epstein’s leadership capabilities were clearly evident in that his international colleagues and students would continually compete for his attention.

Dr. Epstein enjoyed life and appreciated the diversity of various cultural backgrounds and traditions.  I was fortunate and honored to have Dr. Epstein attend my wedding where I was able to share with him the traditions of a Chinese wedding and banquet.  I also had the wonderful opportunity of sharing with him the traditional Chinese Red Egg and Ginger party for my son shortly after his birth.  Dr. Epstein was a charming gentleman with a witty sense of humor who took notice of the depth of cultural distinctions and appreciated the exchange of cultural experiences as part of the human society.

Dr. Epstein retired from UCSF in 2000 and continued his activities as President of the SDRF in San Francisco.  He is survived by his wife, Joan, his daughter, Wendy, son, Steven, and brothers John H. Epstein, M.D. (also a Lowell alumni) and Eugene Epstein, Esq.

Dr. Epstein will be remembered as a respected mentor and esteemed friend.  Thank you, Dr. Bill, for allowing me the privilege and honor of being in your company as one of your youngest students.