UCSF Down Syndrome researcher Charles Epstein, director of human genetics program, dies at 77

Renowned Down Syndrome researcher Dr. Charles Epstein died Tuesday at his home in Tiburon after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was 77.

Epstein tracked early embryonic development, the pathogenesis of Down syndrome and genetic approaches to the study of free radical defense mechanisms, according to the University of California, San Francisco, where he was a faculty member and director of its human genetics program since 1997.