Ronald Epstein

Ronald Epstein is a family physician, palliative care physician, writer, researcher and teacher of communication and mindful practice in medicine.

Epstein, M.D. is Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry & Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and board-certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Epstein is active in research and medical education. He is Director of the Center for Communication and Disparities Research, which focuses on how to improve communication between clinicians, patients and their loved ones. He also directs the Deans Teaching Fellowship program to promote excellence in medical education along with directing the Mindful Practice Programs. He has over 200 publications.

Dr. Epstein graduated from Wesleyan University (1976) and Harvard Medical School (1984). Among his accomplishments, he was named the first George Engel and John Romano Dean's Teaching Scholar at the University of Rochester. National honors include the Lynn Payer Award from the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare for lifetime achievement in research on communication and health and the Humanism in Medicine Award from the New York Academy of Medicine. He has been a Fulbright scholar at the Institute for Health Studies in Barcelona, Spain and a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney.

He is a frequent keynote speaker at major national and international conferences on medical education, communication, and mindfulness in health care. He is a accomplished harpsichordist and gourmet cook, and an avid cyclist and cross-country skier. His wife, Deborah Fox is a freelance lutenist and founding artistic director of Pegasus Early Music. They have two children, Malka and Eli.