Heloisa Dunshee de Abranches Sabin

Heloisa Sabin was born on November 26, 1917, in São Paulo, Brazil, the youngest daughter of Antonia Augusta e Clovis Dunshee de Abranches. While still young, she moved with her family to Rio de Janeiro and got a law degree, but never worked as a lawyer. When she was 21 years old she married her first husband Aryaman Jardim and had two sons, Eduardo Sergio and Carlos Eduardo. She dedicated most of her life to raising her sons.

At 34, she separated from her first husband and went to worked at Jornal do Brasil, a leading Brazilian newspaper. She met Sabin in 1971 at a reception in his honor. At that time, he was already recognized for developing the live, oral polio vaccine, and was continuing his research in Brazil. They were married in New York in 1972, and Heloisa became involved in global health, a transition that would define much of her later life.

They lived in Israel, where he was President of the Weismann Institute, and later moved back to the United States, where they lived in several different cities. Heloisa would follow Sabin in his campaigns to eradicate polio travelling to many countries, including Cuba, which was the first to fully eradicate polio.

In 1981, they moved permanently to Washington – DC, where Sabin worked at the NIH. Following Albert Sabin’s death in 1993, Heloisa dedicated her life to continuing his work and legacy and founded the Sabin Vaccine Institute in 1993 with a group of scientists and collaborators. The Institute led efforts to combat infectious diseases through research and vaccination. Their partnership and commitment to expanding vaccination coverage brought them around the world where they shared their vision with and received encouragement from international leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton. She served as a trustee or honorary trustee of the Institute until the time of her death.

“Heloisa Sabin was an extraordinary person with a lot of determination, and she brought the same determination and commitment to the Sabin Vaccine Institute,” said Philip Russell, Trustee and past President and Chairman of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. “Her dedication to her husband’s legacy of combating the diseases of ignorance and poverty has helped guide the Sabin Vaccine Institute since its founding. Today, we mourn the loss of a great champion and friend, but Heloisa’s legacy and commitment will continue to inspire us all for many years to come.”

She bequeathed all of Albert Sabin’s articles and his entire library to the University of Cincinnati, which manages the Albert B. Sabin Archives. Her good nature, kind heart and approachability and dedication to her family and wider mission will be greatly missed. R.I.P

Heloisa is survived by her sons Carlos and Eduardo Jardim, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, as well as Dr. Sabin’s children Amy Sabin Horn and Deborah Sabin and three grandchildren. She will be laid to rest next to her late husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

Arrangements under the direction of Joseph Gawler's Sons LLC, Washington, DC.