Lester J. Reed (January 3, 1925,

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana – January 14, 2015) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, having been the Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus at

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(UTA), and also a

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

member. He received his Bachelor of Science from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in 1943, where he worked with William Shive, and earned his doctorate from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 1946 at the age of 21. He then moved to Cornell University Medical School for a two-year postdoctorate in the laboratory of

Vincent du Vigneaud Vincent du Vigneaud (May 18, 1901 – December 11, 1978) was an American biochemist. He was recipient of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on biochemically important sulphur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypep ...

from 1946 to 1948. Having worked at UTA since 1948, the Lester J. Reed Professorship was named in his honor in 1997 and the current holder is

Dean R. Appling Dean R. Appling is an American biochemist and associate dean, Lester J. Reed Professor at University of Texas at Austin and a published author. More information on Dean Appling's lab, focused on folic acid research and affectionately called the Fol ...

. In 1977, he was given an honorary doctorate from

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Lester J. 1925 births 2015 deaths American biochemists Tulane University alumni University of Illinois alumni Cornell University alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty