Press room ... 2001 archive
Project Inform Remembers and Honors
the Life of Dr. Nava Sarver
August 8, 2001
San Francisco—Project Inform today remembers and
honors the life of internationally renowned AIDS researcher Nava
Sarver, who died on Friday August 3, 2001. Dr. Sarver battled with
severe rheumatoid arthritis and associated complications for most
of her life. Nava was a true heroine in the fight against AIDS,
dedicating her life's work to promoting research towards a cure.
"Nava's death is a tragedy and an immense loss to the fight against
AIDS," notes Project Inform's Founding Director, Martin Delaney.
"There are people who show society the human side of AIDS, who inspire
us to respond and to try harder. Nava showed us a human side of
AIDS research. She was inspired, she worked harder, and she made
us challenge our assumptions about researchers and science while
working along side us as our colleague and friend."
Nava Sarver, Ph.D. was the Chief of the Targeted Interventions
Branch, Basic Sciences Program, Division of AIDS, NIAID in Bethesda,
Maryland. Dr. Sarver is one of the un-sung heroes in the battle
against AIDS. She has been involved in many of the most important
research triumphs, and up to her death was working tirelessly on
new initiatives. Dr. Sarver had a long history of working with Project
Inform, particularly as a key participant in our Immune Restoration
Think Tank meetings, as a member of our National Board of Governors
and as a valued advisor in many activist initiatives.
"When the history of AIDS is written," remarks Brenda Lein, Director,
Information & Advocacy at Project Inform, "it must remember
the life and work of Nava Sarver. Though facing her own health challenges,
Dr. Sarver could be found diligently working at midnight, one, two
in the morning, in her small office at the National Institutes of
Health. She listened, she inspired, she spoke her truths and she
included the voices of people living with HIV and their advocates
in every level of decision-making within the programs she oversaw,
not because it was required or demanded, but because she recognized
their value.".
Funeral service for Nava will be held on Wednesday, August 8th,
from 1-2 PM in the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Clinical
Center Chapel on the 14th floor of Building 10, on the NIH campus.
In the Jewish tradition, it is customary, when a friend or loved
on dies, to make charitable donations to honor their memory. The
following is a list of organizations that were meaningful to Nava:
- Project Inform, 205 13th Street, #2001 San
Francisco, CA 94103 800-822-7422 (toll-free) or 415-558-9051
- Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation,
7727 Persimmon Tree Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817 301-767-3333
- Children's Hospital Foundation, 111 Michigan
Avenue, Suite 2700, Washington, DC 20010, 202-884-4522
- Myasthenia Gravis Foundation, c/o Lynn Waltz,
752 215th Street, Pasadena, MD 21122, 301-986-0299
- National Council on Aging, 409 Third St., SW,
Washington, DC 20024, Phone 202-479-1200
- Whitman Walker Foundation, 1407 "S" Street,
NW, Washington, DC, Call 202-797-3500
