Lata Shriniwas Nerurkar

Lata Nerurkar, of Arlington, Va., passed away on February 25, 2021, at the age of 78. She had been suffering from her battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia and died peacefully of natural causes at Cherrydale Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, in Arlington, Virginia, where she had been living since January 2019. Lata was born in Belgaum, India to Dattaram and Sushila Manage. She graduated from Bombay University in 1970, earning her Ph.D. with honors in Biochemistry. After earning her doctorate degree, she came to the United States in 1970 on a Fulbright Scholarship and to complete postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry and nutrition at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. An opening for an assistant professor position at Georgetown University in 1974 brought her to the Washington, D.C. area - where she had been living ever since. She worked at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2013, holding various positions, most notably: Research Associate at National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Cancer Expert, Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute; Senior Editor, Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Lata was passionate about inspiring future generations to pursue careers in science and medicine. She was a regular judge at science fairs at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. Lata’s hobbies included photography, painting, drawing, cooking, sudoku, yoga, meditation and spending time with family. She is survived by her husband, Shriniwas Nerurkar; her son, Mukul Nerurkar; her sisters Geeta Chaukulkar, Rekha Lawande and Neela Manage and their families as well Mr. Waman G. Nerurkar and the whole Nerurkar clan.