1943–2015
Dr. Walter H. C. Burgdorf earned his MD from the University of Wisconsin in 1969, completed dermatology residency at the University of Minnesota, and trained in dermatopathology under Juan Rosai and Robert Goltz. He served on the faculty of the University of Oklahoma before being recruited to the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he became the founding Chair of the Department of Dermatology in 1984, following the establishment of the Division by Dr. Edgar “Ben” Smith.
Burgdorf’s enduring achievement was uniting clinical dermatology with dermatopathology. He advanced the use of monoclonal antibody stains in tumor detection and championed a clinicopathologic approach to diagnosis that shaped modern dermatologic education. A prolific author and editor, he was co-editor of the Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft (JDDG) and contributed extensively to the history of dermatology, including works on the experiences of Jewish dermatologists in Nazi Germany.
At UNM, Dr. Burgdorf built a culture of excellence, training generations of dermatologists and pathologists. His writings — spanning scientific studies to reflective essays — demonstrate his belief that medicine is both a humanistic and scientific pursuit. His integration of European scholarship into American dermatology enriched both traditions.
Dr. Burgdorf believed that understanding skin disease required seeing the patient as a whole. He viewed dermatopathology not merely as laboratory science but as a conversation between tissue and clinician. His legacy endures through his students, publications, and the Walter Burgdorf Memorial Lectureship at UNM.
Known to colleagues as “Wally,” he was a mentor, historian, and adventurer. He loved the mountains and hot springs of New Mexico and later returned to Germany, where he passed away in 2015 from glioblastoma. His friends remember him for his wit, scholarship, and passion for both nature and knowledge.
