Richard Epstein was a Professor of Genetics and Director of the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Geneva. He made seminal contributions in the field of bacterial genetics, playing an  instrumental role in the discovery and analysis of the amber mutants of bacteriophage T4 and succeeded in identifying most of the essential genes of T4 using conditional-lethal mutations. He was an inspiring teacher and many students chose to study molecular genetics in the Department after following his stimulating and thought-provoking lectures.

Upon his retirement, Prof. Epstein donated funds to assist graduate students and postdoctoral fellows attend international scientific meetings. Accordingly, to honor his memory, the Department has established the Epstein Award. Three such awards are presented each year on a competitive basis.

To apply for the Epstein Award, interested PhD level graduate students or postdoctoral fellows of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology need to submit information on a meeting they wish to attend in the future, a half-page justification of why they want to attend the specific meeting and the abstract and/or manuscript that they intend to present at this meeting.