Two of our distinguished faculty have achieved emeritus status in the Department of Pathology. Congratulations to Dennis Kucik, M.D., Associate Professor, Pathology, and R. Pat Bucy, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Laboratory Medicine.
Dennis Kucik, M.D., retired on December 31, 2016. Dennis joined UAB’s Department of Pathology, Division of Laboratory Medicine in August of 1997. In 2003 he was appointed Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center. In addition to his invaluable service with the VA, Kucik maintained an active research portfolio during his career. He has been recognized nationally for his achievements related to his NASA-funded research project using both cell and animal models to determine the mechanism of radiation-induced aortic endothelial cell adhesiveness and its consequences for atherosclerosis. His research helped predict the risks associated with interplanetary travel for astronauts, as well as develop countermeasures to mitigate the adverse effects of prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation. Dr. Kucik served as a mentor to many UAB graduate students and Pathology residents throughout the years.
R. Pat Bucy, M.D., Ph.D., retired from active service at UAB on October 1, 2018 and was appointed Professor Emeritus. He began his scientific career studying physical organic chemistry while in college, graduating in 1975 from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University (one of only three in the nation with full funding at the time) in the fall of 1975. Bucy completed his Ph.D. in cellular immunology with a focus on the Ir gene control of immune responses to insulin and graduated in 1981 with both an M.D. and Ph.D. He completed a residency in Anatomic Pathology at Washington University and joined the Faculty there as Assistant Professor in 1984. Bucy joined UAB in 1987.
Dr. Tony Jones, left, congratulates Dr. R. Pat Bucy on 30 years of service to the UAB Health Services Foundation
He began his research program focused on T cell biology and clinical service on the autopsy and heart transplant biopsy services. He initiated a long-standing project on murine heart transplant rejection that resulted in characterization of the cytokine expression pattern in murine cardiac allografts and production of multiple transgenic, including the first TCR transgenic mouse line that was specific for an authentic indirect alloantigen. Bucy shifted his clinical focus to serve as the director of the UAB Hospital Flow Cytometry lab in 1989, a role he continued for his remaining tenure at UAB. He initiated a clinical core lab funded by the Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group in 1996 in collaboration with Dr. Rick Hockett. He was involved in multiple projects in HIV research, including the design and execution of several novel clinical trials focused on the concept of therapeutic vaccination. Bucy maintained an active research program focused on in vitro analysis of murine T cell responses, particularly the generation of Treg cells using TCR transgenic models in collaboration with Dr. Judy Kapp. Additionally, he served as the Director of the UAB MSTP program from 2001 to 2006.
Bucy switched focus to concentrate on clinical service in Flow Cytometry and bone marrow biopsy services in 2010. He was appointed as the Associate Director of the Residency Program for Lab Medicine, and began a focus on teaching critical analysis of medical literature and presentation skills in the Lab Medicine Seminar series.
"We are honored to celebrate Dr. Bucy and Dr. Kucik in their respective careers at UAB, each spanning several decades in the laboratory, in research, and teaching," said George Netto, M.D., Chair, Department of Pathology. Their legacies run deep in the Department and we are privileged to have had them on our team for so many years. Their contributions will continue to be felt in the years to come. We thank them both for their service to the institution."