Dr. Elizabeth Sutton Stuart

1940 - 2017

AMHERST – Dr. Elizabeth Sutton Stuart passed away June 29, 2017, at Fisher Home in Amherst, which provided a place of comfort and peace for her and her family these last few weeks.

Dr. Stuart worked at the University of Massachusetts for 40 years and most recently in the Microbiology Department where she held the position of Associate Professor and Director of Chlamydia Vaccine Research.

Dr. Stuart was born in 1940 in Rochester, Minnesota, to Dr. Edmund B. Sutton and Elizabeth Hollis Sutton. Her father at the time was doing medical studies at the Mayo Clinic. She spent her youth in Rockford, Illinois, before coming east to attend Mary Burnham School (now known as Stoneleigh Burnham) in Northampton.

Dr. Stuart graduated in 1962 from Wellesley College then went on to receive a PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1967.This all was at a time when only limited numbers of women were pursuing higher studies in the sciences.

She then went on to North Carolina State University where she was a Staff Fellow for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences as well as being an elected member of The Society of The Sigma Xi in 1971.

Dr. Stuart married Alastair MacDonald Stuart on June 20,1964 in Rockford, Illinois. Lee and Alastair lived in Illinois, North Carolina and Australia before settling in Amherst. Alastair also spent most of his professional career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Zoology Department. He passed away in 2009.

In 1974, Dr. Stuart joined UMass Amherst as an NIH Post-doctoral fellow in the department of Biochemistry & Molecular and Cell Biology. She later became an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology in 1991, where she collaborated on research with the late Bruce McDonald. In 1996, she became the Director of Molecular Microbial Laboratory Services and upon the death of Dr. McDonald assumed the role of Director of Chlamydia Vaccine Research. Dr. Stuart was promoted to Associate Professor of Microbiology in the year 2000.

Over the period of her scientific career, Dr. Stuart published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, over 50 scholarly abstracts and meeting proceedings and gave numerous invited scientific presentations. She was issued six patents in the United States, Australia and Europe, most involving the development of a Chlamydia vaccine and discovery of vaccine-related antigens. Her research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Biomedical Collaborative, through Baystate Medical Center, as well as corporate pharmaceutical companies such as BioVeris and Wellstat Therapeutics. She mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students in her lab, many of whom hold prominent industry and faculty research positions today.

Among her most important contributions to science were the co-discovery and patenting of a Chlamydia vaccine antigen called GLXA, the co-discovery and patenting of the utility of gas for vaccine delivery of SIV/HIV antigens, the co-discovery of the presence of live Chlamydia in human blood donor samples and how to eliminate them and the carriage of Chlamydia species in breast milk. All of these findings have been published and widely cited in the scientific literature.

Dr. Stuart was an early riser and would always be in the lab by 7 a.m., at which time she would brew her very strong coffee and start her day. She loved chocolate and always had a stash in her desk drawer at work. She loved a good laugh and was a proud wife, mother and grandmother who took every opportunity to talk about her children and grandchildren.

Dr. Stuart is survived by her children Anne E. H. Stuart (James Dresser) of Turners Falls and Samuel Stuart (Michelle) of Sunnyvale, California; two grandchildren, Rachel and Zachary Stuart; her sister Patricia (George) Carda of Wellesley; and her brother Edmund (Grace) Sutton of New York, New York; and many nieces and nephews near and far.

The Stuart family would like to give warm and special thanks to all the wonderful staff at Hospice of the Fisher Home, along with: Beth Young, Brenda Chickering, Denise Barnard, Janet Bunce, Kathy Davis, The Lundgren Family, The Lattuca Family, Nancy Williams, Tina Kingsley and Wilmore Webley for their love and support.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Fisher Home 1165 North Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01002 or Amherst Rotary c/o Richard Mathews, Treasurer P.O. Box 542 Amherst, MA 01003.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.

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