William H. Kutteh, M.D., Ph.D., H.C.L.D.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce the guest editor of this issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, Dr. William H. Kutteh. As noted by the readers of Seminars, I have enlisted several my former fellows and faculty mentors to serve as Guest Editors. I recruited Dr. Kutteh (Billy) to our fellowship program in 1989 and he remained on the faculty until 1996, focusing his career on the causes and treatment of recurrent pregnancy loss.

Dr. Kutteh is Professor and Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and Director of Reproductive Immunology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Dr. Kutteh heads a busy clinical division of infertility, endocrinology, and in vitro fertilization program at his institution, in addition to running a highly technical immunological laboratory, which specializes in autoantibodies and reproductive losses.

Dr. Kutteh received his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, postgraduate studies in immunology from Duke University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in molecular cell biology with emphasis in immunology. He returned to Wake Forest University School of Medicine to complete his medical degree and served his residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in obstetrics and gynecology, followed by a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Kutteh stayed on as faculty and Director of the In Vitro Fertilization Program and Director of Reproductive Immunology before taking on his present position at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Kutteh is well published in both reproductive endocrinology and immunology, with more than 200 publications including 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, 30 book chapters and reviews, and 120 abstracts and presentations. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He has received multiple awards and funding throughout his impressive academic career, including the Sigma Xi Graduate Student Research Award, Eli Lilly Research Fellow, South Atlantic Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research Fellow Award, Mead Johnson American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Fellowship Award, Berlex Resident Education Award in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ortho Distinguished Fellow in Reproduction Award, and the J. Christian Herr Career Faculty Award in Reproductive Immunology. He has also received an RO1 award funded by the National Institutes of Health for his study of vaginal immunity and role of endogenous/exogenous agents.

Dr. Kutteh is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, and infertility, and by the Board of Bioanalysis High Complexity Laboratory Directors. He holds editorial positions with several journals including Fertility and Sterility, American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Journal of Reproductive Immunology, and the American Journal of Reproductive Endocrinology. Dr. Kutteh is well known in his field of expertise involving recurrent pregnancy loss, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, and thrombophilias. He is a dedicated scientist with both excellent clinical and basic science skills. His contributions in the field of reproductive endocrinology and immunology have been extensive and far reaching. He has been named as one of “America's Top Obstetricians and Gynecologists,” selected by his peers as one of the “Best Doctors in America,” and has been repeatedly selected as an outstanding reproductive endocrinologist in Memphis by a national survey of physicians.

Dr. Kutteh has recruited several experts who summarize our current understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of a major health problem of women, recurrent pregnancy loss.

Bruce R. Carr, M.D. Editor in Chief