Jan Novak, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor in the UAB Department of Microbiology, has been named the Inaugural Holder of the Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship in Microbiology.
“This prestigious appointment is a significant milestone in Dr. Novak’s distinguished career and a powerful recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of microbiology,” said J. Victor Garcia-Martinez, Ph.D., professor and Charles H. McCauley Endowed Chair in the Department of Microbiology. “It not only honors his scientific achievements but also elevates the visibility and impact of our department on a national and international scale.”
About the Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship in Microbiology
Novak, a native of Czech Republic, received his Master of Science at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, in 1985, followed by his Doctor of Natural Sciences from the same institution in 1987. Then, in 1990, he earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Cell and Molecular Biology from the Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague, where he also spent time on his postgraduate training until 1992.
The Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship in Microbiology is named in honor of Jiri Mestecky, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Microbiology, who also graduated from Charles University in Prague in 1964 and who came to UAB in 1967 as a postgraduate fellow in the Department of Microbiology. The endowment is possible thanks to William Kutteh, M.D., and his wife Carol Kutteh, M.D. William earned his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology from UAB in 1981 under the mentorship of Mestecky. After earning his M.D. from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, William returned to UAB to complete an OBGYN residency. Carol is also an alumna of the UAB OBGYN residency program. Read more about the establishment of the Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship.
Novak: The Inaugural Holder of the Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship in Microbiology
Novak moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he completed his training at UAB in 1994. In 2006, he became an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and was promoted to professor in 2013. In 2022, he was named Distinguished Professor, before being named the Inaugural Holder of the Jiri Mestecky Endowed Professorship in Microbiology in June 2025.
“This is a great honor that reflects the outstanding efforts of our laboratory members and visiting scientists, as well as colleagues and collaborators at UAB and elsewhere, who have helped to push the boundaries of knowledge in many human diseases we have studied,” Novak said of the endowed professorship title. “Our translational studies helped to identify mechanisms in several chronic human diseases affecting the kidneys. These discoveries and other findings have supported the development of disease-targeting therapies in IgA nephropathy and resulted in several approved therapies and multiple ongoing clinical trials. Despite these achievements, there is a lot more to be done, and we are hoping that this recognition and support will aid in our work to find a cure for diseases such as IgA nephropathy.”
Novak is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease in which the protein IgA builds up in the glomeruli, the filtration units of the kidneys, causing kidney damage and leading to a loss of kidney function in many patients. He has spent the last 25 years focusing his research efforts on IgA nephropathy to better understand the cellular and molecular basis of the disease.
In addition, his research focuses on glycosylation processes in health and disease in immunology, renal disease, and infectious disease. He is considered an expert in the fields of glycoimmunobiology, glycoimmunopathology, functional glycomics, and autoimmunity.
Due to his expertise, Novak is frequently asked to present at national and international meetings. Novak has given addresses at the 15th and 16th International Symposia on IgA Nephropathy in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Prague, Czech Republic, the 110th Annual Meeting of Japanese Urological Society in Kobe, Japan, the 17th International Symposium on IgA Nephropathy in Tokyo, Japan, the 62nd Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Nephrology in Nagoya, Japan, and the 55th Congress of European Renal Association – European dialysis and Transplantation Association in Copenhagen Denmark –all within the last several years. He has also delivered numerous invited seminars across the United States.
In addition, Novak has authored more than 200 publications and book chapters, with 36 manuscripts published in the last five years. These publications include top specialty journals such as Journal of Clinical Investigation, Kidney International, Kidney International Reports, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Glycobiology, Nature Reviews Nephrology, iScience, PLoS Genetics, and others. His publications have been cited more than 10,000 times.
On top of his research efforts, Novak is dedicated to training the next generation of researchers and has hosted more than 48 visiting scientists in his laboratory since 2002. He is involved with training young scientists at all levels, including high school/college students via summer programs, as well as mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Following a national glycobiology workshop hosted by UAB in 2013, he developed with colleagues at UAB a UAB Graduate School advanced course in glycobiology “Glycosylation in health and disease”, that also led to a virtual course for the NIH in glycoimmunology in 2021 (Glycobiology Scientific Interest Group, Special Topics Seminar Series “Glycosylation in Human Health and Disease”). These educational efforts cover a broad emerging field of Glycomedicine.