Advisory Board Member: Dr. John Sever

Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialistand Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine

George Washington University, The Children’s National Medical Center
Washington, DC

Dr. Sever received his MD and PhD (Microbiology) degrees from Northwestern University. He served as the Chief of the Infectious Diseases Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS). He was also the Chairman of Pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC). Later, Dr. Sever pursued research on HIV and directed the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at the CNMC.

Dr. Sever has been president of several medical societies, has received a number of awards and honors for his research and teaching and has published numerous scientific papers and edited many books. Dr. Sever was a member of the IRB of NINDS and was Chair of the Institutional Review Boards & Research Integrity Office at the CNMC, respectively. Dr. Sever is a member of the Pediatric Central IRB, The IRB of CNMC, The Human Subjects Research Review Board of the United States Army Office of the Surgeon General, The IRB of The Chesapeake Research Review and is a consultant to the Center for Disease Control.

Polio Eradication

Dr. Sever has been an instrumental leader in the polio eradication effort. Since 1988, Rotary International and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — have worked to wipe polio from the face of the earth. A volunteer service organization of 1.2 million men and women, Rotary began immunizing children against polio in 1985 and became a spearheading partner in the GPEI three years later.

Degrees

• PhD, Northwestern U. Graduate School, 1957
• MD, Northwestern U. Medical School, 1957
•  BA, University of Chicago, 1952