Honoring an Extraordinary Career

Gift commitment establishes new endowed chair in microbiology

By Jane Longshore

The influence of a mentor can permeate an entire career. William Kutteh, M.D., Ph.D., knows that from experience. Currently director of Fertility Associates of Memphis, he earned his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology from UAB in 1981, under the mentorship of Jiri Mestecky, M.D., Ph.D. After earning his M.D. from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, William returned to UAB to complete an OBGYN residency. Carol Kutteh, M.D., his wife, is also a UAB OBGYN residency alumna.

In fall 2019, the Kuttehs made a generous commitment through a bequest in their will to establish an endowed faculty scholar fund as an initial step toward establishing the Dr. Jiri Mestecky Endowed Chair in the UAB Department of Microbiology.

“Hopefully everyone can look back on their career and identify a few key individuals and mentors who encouraged them to continue on their path,” William says. “Dr. Mestecky was one of those key mentors for me. It is difficult to imagine where my path would have led if I had not had the experiences I did working at UAB in his lab. Because I had that wonderful formative experience with Dr. Mestecky as a mentor, years later I applied to return to UAB for the excellent OBGYN residency program—and that’s where I met my wife of 33 years.”

Dr. Mestecky came to UAB from the former Czechoslovakia in 1967 as a postgraduate fellow in the department of microbiology. He has since spent more than five decades investigating the structure, biosynthesis, and function of human and animal immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immune responses.

He was among the first scientists to develop reliable assays for the measurement of mucosal HIV immune responses, to investigate correlates of HIV transmission, and to join in efforts to develop vaccines to prevent the infection. Add to that his other foundational work in mucosal immunology and it’s an astounding re?sume?.

“Looking back, it’s easy to see why Dr. Mestecky deserves to be honored in this way,” William says. “We hope this endowed chair will help the department of microbiology recruit and retain the best faculty in the world—individuals just like Dr. Mestecky.”

Frances Lund, Ph.D., chair of the department of microbiology, says, “We are extremely grateful to the Kuttehs for their very generous gift. Today, as the world’s scientists rush to test treatments for the immune-induced lung damage caused by COVID-19 and to develop vaccines to protect the lung and intestines from infection with SARS-CoV-2, we are heavily reliant on the pioneering studies of Dr. Mestecky and his colleagues. The endowed chair established by the Kuttehs will allow the department of microbiology to attract and retain top scientists who will not only address questions that are relevant to the challenges we now face but will add to the foundation of knowledge that Dr. Mestecky built.”

Your gift can enhance the work of UAB’s scientists and physicians. For help finding the right legacy gift for you, contact the Office of Planned Giving at (205) 996-7533 or plannedgiving@uab.edu today. You can also make a gift today to support this effort by visiting https://go.uab.edu/HonorDrMestecky.