NIH Researcher, AIDS Activist Nava Sarver Dies at 50 of Autoimmune Disease

Nava Sarver, 50, who served as chief of the targeted interventions branch of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease since 1996, died on Aug. 3 of complications related to myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder, the Washington Post reports. At NIH since 1988, Sarver pushed research on gene and cellular therapy and had most recently been researching immune system restoration in people with HIV. Sarver also was active in the AIDS community, serving on San Francisco-based Project Inform's board since 1996 and having a "rapport with activist groups often critical of the pace of government funding," the Post reports. "She was a strong link between the community of people infected with HIV and the research community," Greg Gonsalves, a spokesperson for New York City-based Gay Men's Health Crisis, said, adding, "She was smart, and she had a good heart" (Zielinski, Washington Post, 8/14).