Born in New York City, Steve prepared for Princeton at Manhattan’s Ethical Culture Fieldston School. A member of Terrace Club, he was on the staff of WPRB. His biology department thesis was an experimental lab on hematology with Hirsh Barmatz. After earning a medical degree from Columbia, Steve did his pediatric residency at Mount Sinai, his military service as the Navy pediatrician at the Port Hueneme Seabee hospital near Los Angeles, and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital. He joined the UCLA medical faculty in 1972 and began his life’s work in teaching and research in cell metabolism and bone-marrow transplantation for children with blood diseases and cancer, retiring after 40 years in 2016.
A habit of joking with his patients by calling them “turkeys” led to his nickname as “Dr. Turkey” and an extensive collection of turkey memorabilia.