Remembering Stephen Sacks, MD, FRCPC: Researcher, Teacher, Patient Advocate

Across many countries, the community of those who have worked in herpes research, patient advocacy and clinical care will sorely miss the presence of Steven Sacks, MD, FRCPC, who has made an enormous contribution to the field and always added a touch of personal warmth and humor to his many interactions with colleagues, patients, and friends. Dr. Sacks died in November, after a long battle with lymphoma. Sacks was a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and founder of the clinical research organization Viridae, which specialized in viral infections. He is perhaps best known to those working in education and patient advocacy as author of The Truth About Herpes. The book, a scholarly handbook on herpes simplex that was also accessible to a lay audience, helped to frame herpes as a common, manageable infection and helped tens of thousands of readers in its two decades in print. Sacks also edited a medical textbook on herpes virus infections.

An outstanding scientist, Sacks participated in nearly all of the key clinical trials related to genital herpes-whether for antiviral treatments, new diagnostic tests, or vaccines. Of special note, he was the lead investigator on studies of the drug famciclovir (Famvir) in its developmental stages and had designed trials of a number of promising topical medications for herpes as well. His passion for research led him to found Viridae in 1993, through which he went on to conduct important research on hepatitis, human papillomavirus and other viral infections.

Throughout, Sacks always spoke eloquently about the human side of viral infections and the importance for clinicians of understanding the impact of herpes on the patient. "Of course you should ask about symptoms," Sacks often remarked in his lectures, "but you should also ask the patient what this means for his or her life."

"Steve was a passionate advocate for benefiting people with genital herpes," says longtime colleague Lawrence Corey, MD, of the University of Washington. "He was concerned about stigma. He was concerned about symptoms, about depression, about giving people the tools to cope with their disease and to present options and new therapies for both individual and collective benefit. This spirit which he projected on the podium went almost seamlessly into his design of clinical trials. We have lost a friend and an advocate at all too young an age."

Steve leaves behind a close family that was always in his thoughts, his wife, Marika, and children Adrian and Rebecca.

This writer remembers Steve equally for his warmth and his wit. At a scientific gathering, he could always be counted on to ask a prestigious lecturer the most sophisticated and difficult question and bring a smile to the entire audience.

He could also be counted on to make a truly personal connection. As a personal memory, I recall Steve seeking me out on one of my first trips to an international meeting and introducing me to friends even though I, as a health writer, was not truly part of the club of researchers represented there. Steve expressed concern that I wasn't feeling well. Later, when I failed to show up for the dinner event because I was bed-bound with a high fever, my hotel phone rang at 9 p.m. It was Steve, checking up on me.

To the end, Steve was sharp, forward-looking, and able to raise the tough questions with creativity and wit. It's fitting that the word truth would appear in the title of his well-known book. Steve always had the courage and drive to look for it.

• Charlie Ebel