Pitt professor and researcher devoted to HIV prevention
For Charlene Dezzutti, happiness would be a world without HIV.
The 53-year-old professor and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh died Thursday after a nearly yearlong battle with neuroendocrine cancer.
“We knew the odds were against us,” said Kent Street, Ms. Dezzutti’s husband of 22 years. “We were hoping we could get her into remission, but that didn’t happen.”
Ms. Dezzutti was a talented researcher devoted to finding ways to prevent the transmission of HIV, her colleagues said. She was a professor in Pitt’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology.
“I just can’t overstate how much she cared about the work she did,” said Sharon Hillier, who worked with Ms. Dezzutti at the Magee-Womens Research Institute. “Charlene really cared deeply about this work.”
Ms. Hillier was among the close friends and family members with Ms. Dezzutti during her final moments at her Edgewood home.
Ms. Hillier said she admired her friend’s ability to persevere, even in the face of such adversity.
“She was one of my dearest friends,” said Ms. Hillier, who corrected herself when referring to her friend in the present tense. “She was someone I looked forward to seeing every day. She has this beautiful smile on her face even when things were terrible.”
Ms. Dezzutti’s diagnosis in April couldn’t have come at a worse time — just weeks later, her lab at the research institute was selected to receive a four-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to investigate factors that could increase HIV transmission among adolescent girls.
“I think it’s a tribute to the teamwork that people felt in working with Charlene that we all figured out how we could it keep it going,” even after her illness, Ms. Hillier said. “She worked hard to make sure it would proceed righton track.”
The daughter of the late John and Frances Dezzutti, Ms. Dezzutti was raised in Fox Chapel and earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology and biochemistry at Pitt in 1986. She went on to receive master’s and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University.
Her interest in working to eradicate HIV was spawned by her affection for her uncle, August “Buzz” Pusateri, who was diagnosed with HIV in the early 1980s as part of the groundbreaking Pitt Men’s Study.
“I have lived half of my life with HIV,” said Mr. Pusateri, 79, of Oakland. “I was told that I could have been infected as early as 1980.”
As her late mother’s only sibling, Mr. Pusateri played an important role in Ms. Dezzutti’s life. “A lot of the passion she had came from her uncle’s experiences,” Ms. Hillier said.
Mentoring the next generation of scientists was also important to Ms. Dezzutti, who headed a college training program for young scientists at the research institute for seven years.
“She served as a role model,” Ms. Hillier said. “She already had students lined up for this summer. She was committed to training young scientists right up until the moment she died.”
Ms. Hillier said her friend shouldbe remembered for her contributions to the world.
“People like Charlene die, but they never leave you,” she said. “They leave a much larger footprint behind. They leave a mark on you. Her energy, her passion, her laughter are things that are with us.”
In addition to her husband and uncle, Ms. Dezzutti is survived by sisters Rosann Barr of Export and Francine Urbanick of Linesville, Crawford County.
Visitation is scheduled for 2to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. April 13 at the Burket-Truby Funeral Home, 421 Allegheny Ave. in Oakmont. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. April 14 at at Riverside Community Church, 401 Allegheny Ave., Oakmont.
The family suggests donations in her memory to Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation, 3339 Ward St., Pittsburgh 15213, and designated to support Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation’s summer student training programs.