Dr. Thomas H. Sternberg; Founded UCLA Dermatology Department

Dr. Thomas H. Sternberg, 84, dermatologist who founded and directed the UCLA dermatology department. Educated at Northwestern Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania, Sternberg worked for the U.S. surgeon general’s office during World War II. Elevated to colonel, he headed the Army’s venereal disease program, pioneering the use of penicillin. President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Legion of Merit for his treatment program for syphilis. Sternberg established a private dermatology practice in Los Angeles after the war, but quickly moved to UCLA to create the division of dermatology for its School of Medicine. After 20 years directing the division, he returned to private practice, retiring in 1992. Sternberg wrote or co-wrote about 100 articles and four books including “More than Skin Deep” and “Great Skin at Any Age.” On Wednesday in Los Angeles.