STEVEN SCHLEIFER

SCHLEIFER--Dr. Steven J., one of the leading early voices in the field of psychoneuroimmunology in the United States, died on September 25, 2020. He was 70. Dr. Schleifer's publications on psychoneuroimmunology and psychosomatic medicine span over four decades and continue to inspire new avenues of research and study. Born in New York and raised in Stuyvesant Town on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Dr. Schleifer was a child of the city. He graduated as valedictorian from Ramaz High School in 1967, earned his undergraduate degree at Columbia College, and his medical degree from Mount Sinai Medical School, where his pioneering research began. He continued his numerous NIMH funded projects as he transitioned to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (Rutgers New Jersey Medical School) where he served as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry for eleven years. As a clinician scholar, he provided thoughtful clinical care and trained countless psychiatrists. After moving with his young family to Teaneck, New Jersey in the early 1980s, Dr. Schleifer's love for opera brought him back across the Hudson often, to the Metropolitan Opera House, where he delighted in attending performances with his family. Dr. Schleifer spent his entire life in the pursuit of knowledge. He was a voracious reader of American and world history and a devoted scholar of traditional Jewish texts. He served multiple communities as a skilled Torah reader and inspiring leader of prayer. His happiest times were spent at family gatherings celebrating the cycle of the Jewish calendar, passing along his love of Jewish ritual, prayer, and song to his children and grandchildren. He leaves his beloved wife of 48 years, Sarah (Rosenberg) of Teaneck, NJ, his children, Jonathan (Katie) of Washington, D.C.; Eli (Jessica) of San Francisco, CA; Yitz (Talya) of Providence, RI; Atara (Tom) of Walnut Creek, CA; ten grandchildren, and a sister, Resa Fogel, of Passaic, NJ. He was predeceased by his parents, Caroline (Rapps) and Jack Schleifer of New York City, and a brother, Richard Schleifer, of Riverdale, NY. Dr. Schleifer was laid to rest in Cedar ParkBeth El Cemetery in Paramus, NJ on Sunday, September 27, 2020. In honor of his commitment to universal access to health care and social justice, the family requests donations be made to The Fairness Project.