Franklin Harold Epstein: 5 May 1924-5 November 2008.

Patricio Silva1 1 Department of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Correspondence: Patricio Silva, Department of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, 3401 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140, USA. E-mail: psilva@massmed.org Franklin Harold Epstein, MD, died on 5 November 2008. He was one of the most recognized and influential nephrologists of the past century. He was a teacher, a researcher, a mentor to many nephrologists and other scientists, and an inspiring physician. He was dedicated to his patients, students, and colleagues and continued to work full time until a month before his death. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended Brooklyn College, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1944. He attended Yale University School of Medicine, graduating cum laude in 1947. At Yale University, he was mentored by John P. Peters. Frank trained at Yale and was a fellow in the Department of Medicine at Boston University. During the Korean War, he was a captain in the Medical Corps of the US Army, initially an instructor at the Army Medical Service Graduate School, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and later stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska. After his service in the army, Frank joined the faculty at Yale University School of Medicine, where he rose in rank from assistant professor to professor and succeeded Dr. Peters as chief of the Section of Metabolism. He then became the chairman of the Second and Fourth Harvard Medical Services and Department of Medicine at the Boston City Hospital and, later, the Herrman L. Blumgart Professor of Medicine and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School. During that time, he was also director of the Nephrology Division at Beth Israel Hospital. At the time of his death, Frank was the William Applebaum Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was married to Sherrie (Spivak) Epstein and was the father of four children: Mark, Ann, Sara, and Jonathan. Frank received more than 70 awards and recognitions during his long career, including the Francis G. Blake Award from Yale University, the John P. Peters Award from the American Society of Nephrology, the Bywaters Award from the International Society of Nephrology, and the David Hume Award from the National Kidney Foundation. Frank trained and mentored more than 100 fellows, students, and faculty. Most, if not all, of the physicians he trained went on to develop successful academic careers of their own across the country and throughout the world. Observations made while seeing patients or during case presentations in rounds often led to questions that Frank suggested to junior faculty members as avenues of investigation. But more than just proposing the investigation, he would indicate ways to approach it. He was a teacher of uncommon clarity. He presented and discussed issues in a way that everyone could understand. He had the gift of rapidly and correctly assessing the level of complexity that was appropriate to his audience and adjusting his teaching accordingly. He was excellent at explaining complex issues, many times resorting to illustrative analogies. His lectures were always well attended and received. Perhaps the outstanding characteristic of his career was the interest he expressed in all the problems that were presented to him. He would listen carefully, interrupting only for clarification, but would correct mistakes or misinterpretations, and ask for clear demonstrations that the observations were correct. He would then offer suggestions and indicate how he would approach the questions or whom to contact for further suggestions, information, or technical help. He gave his advice freely, encouraging people to pursue research avenues he suggested. Frank was the epitome of the physician− scientist. The scope of his scientific interests was breathtaking. Early in his career, he investigated the management of congestive heart failure and circulatory failure in myocardial infarction. He was interested in hypertension, its management, and the consequences of treatments. He studied the effect of hormones on the kidneys. The current that drove his investigations was fueled by the insights that they offered on the physiology of the systems and the implications for clinical care. For 40 years, starting in 1968, he investigated the way fish manage salt and water. Bony fish that move between fresh and salt water manage their salt by increasing the excretion of salt Franklin Harold Epstein: 5 May 1924–5 November 2008