A native New Yorker, Dr. Goldstein is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine and Director of the R. M. Alden Research Laboratory in Santa Monica, California. He trained in infectious diseases at VA Wadsworth-UCLA Medical Center under Drs. Sydney M Finegold, Vera Sutter, and William Hewett. Consequently, a major focus of his clinical and research activities has involved anaerobic bacteria and their infections. For thirty years he has pursued his interest in human and animal bite wounds, publishing seminal studies defining their bacteriology, both aerobic and anaerobic, as well as their clinical presentations, complications and therapy.

Along with Diane M. Citron, Associate Director of the R. M. Alden Research Laboratory, he has pursued many other clinical and laboratory research interests including the aerobic and anaerobic bacteriology of intra-abdominal and diabetic foot infections, as well as in vitro susceptibility of fastidious and anaerobic bacteria to new antimicrobial agents. Collaborating with colleagues at the University of Aachen, Leipzig University, the University of Wales, and Michigan State University, Ellie and Diane have explored such issues as pathogenicity factors in Bacteroides fragilis, and molecular characteristics of unusual isolates, the latter leading to the description of several new genera and species. Dr. Goldstein has published over 300 articles and book chapters.

Besides his research activities, Dr. Goldstein is in full-time clinical practice of Infectious Diseases at St. John’s Health Center of Santa Monica, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Kindred Hospital-Los Angeles. He is also Chief of Infection Control at Kindred Hospital-Los Angeles and sits on the National Medical Advisory Board for the 68-hospital system. He has received the Stern Teaching Award twice from the residents of Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. Goldstein is an Associate Editor of Anaerobe and the Journal of Medical Microbiology . He served as Associate Editor for Clinical Infectious Diseases for eleven years and as Senior Editor for Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. The numerous societies and organizations he belongs to include the American Society for Microbiology, the Surgical Infection Society, and the Society for Anaerobic Microbiology.

In addition, Dr. Goldstein was elected Councilor of the Infectious Diseases Society of America for 3 years and has served on virtually every IDSA Committee at some time or another. He was Chair of the Clinical Affairs Committee of IDSA and with George Thornton helped organize the IDSA State and Regional Society Council. He founded and served as President of the Infectious Diseases Association of California, the IDSA-affiliated regional society and in 1995 he received the “IDSA Clinician of the Year Award”. He co-founded the Anaerobe Society of the Americas with Dr. Finegold in 1992 and served as its second President; he is currently Treasurer.

He is also involved in a variety of community activities including serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of his children's school, and as President of his synagogue, Young Israel of Santa Monica. He is a board member for Help Our Mobil Elderly [helping memory impaired older women] and an advisor to Freeplay, an organization dedicated to off-leash dog parks.