Dr. Hans Einstein

The foremost authority on the lung disease valley fever is Dr. Hans Einstein.

Born in Berlin in 1923, Einstein’s moved with his family to the Netherlands in 1934. After high school he moved to the United States as an exchange student, graduating from Furman University in South Carolina in 1943 with degrees in Biology and English.

In 1946, he earned his medical degree from New York Medical College and then became a medical officer in the US Army.

After his stint in the military, he completed his residency at Bakersfield’s Kern Medical Center and became assistant medical director of the Kern County Tuberculosis Sanitarium.

There he discovered patients with a different pulmonary problem: Valley Fever.

In 1954, he was asked to oversee a new anti-fungal drug study.

In 1977, the government approved local vaccine trials, and that vaccine continues to be the most effective method of suppressing the fungus.

Einstein continues to assist nonprofit efforts to further understand and treat the disease.