Background
Epstein was born on May 7, 1931, in Breslau, Germany; the son of Stephan and Elsbeth (Lauinger) Epstein. He came to United States in 1936 and naturalized in 1943.
Epstein was born on May 7, 1931, in Breslau, Germany; the son of Stephan and Elsbeth (Lauinger) Epstein. He came to United States in 1936 and naturalized in 1943.
Wolfgang received an honorary degree of Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College in 1951. Four years later he was given a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota.
Wolfgang served with Medical Corps of United States Army in 1957-1959. Epstein began his career as a postdoctoral fellow in physiology at the University of Minnesota in 1959 and held it for a year. In 1961, he held the posiion of a postdoctoral fellow in biophysics at Harvard Medical School.
In 1963 Wolfgang moved to Paris and became a postdoctoral fellow at Pasteur Institute. Two years later Wofgang was an associate in biophysics at the same institute. In 1967, he became an assistant professor in biochemistry at the University of Chicago. Then Epstein took a position of an associate professor in 1973 and a professor in 1979 at the same university.
Since 1984 Wolfgang was a professor of molecular genetics and cell biology department at the University of Chicago. Since 1999 Wolfgang has been a professor emeritus at the same university.
Epstein is a member of American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and American Society for Microbiology.
On June 12, 1961 Wolfgang Epstein married Edna Selan. They have 3 children.