  Recently, the problem of boundary stabilization for unstable linear
constant-coefficient coupled reaction-diffusion systems was solved by means of
the backstepping method. The extension of this result to systems with advection
terms and spatially-varying coefficients is challenging due to complex boundary
conditions that appear in the equations verified by the control kernels. In
this paper we address this issue by showing that these equations are
essentially equivalent to those verified by the control kernels for first-order
hyperbolic coupled systems, which were recently found to be well-posed. The
result therefore applies in this case, allowing us to prove H^1 stability for
the closed-loop system. It also shows an interesting connection between
backstepping kernels for coupled parabolic and hyperbolic problems.
