Lester J. Reed (January 3, 1925,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 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 university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

(UTA), and also a

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

member. He received his Bachelor of Science from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

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

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

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 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. 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