Dr. Roberta Reed '67 Receives Distinguished Alumna Award

Dr. Roberta Gable Reed ’67 has accomplished many impressive achievements since leaving Lebanon Valley College. In honor of her career accolades, she received the College’s Distinguished Alumna Award as part of the annual Homecoming celebration.

“I appreciate the honor of being chosen for this years distinguished alumni award,” said Dr. Reed, “but I must acknowledge that LVC, by teaching me to think like a scientist, is responsible for much of my successes we are celebrating today.”

Dr. Reed worked at Basset Healthcare for 30 years, where she served as a research biochemist and laboratory director before retiring. Her research focused on blood proteins and the effect they had on transporting drugs and nutrients throughout the body. This early research occurred at the time when the American Heart Association was interested in the effect that low fat diets would have on cholesterol. Dr. Reed’s work centered on lipids and lipoproteins and various diet interactions with blood proteins.   

Throughout her career, Dr. Reed served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry. She authored a book titled Analyzing Food Products for Vitamin C and has published 55 peer-reviewed research papers. 

After LVC, Dr. Reed’s educational journey included master’s and doctorate degrees in philosophy from Wesleyan University, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the Triangle Institute. She was also the first clinical chemist to be offered a fellowship to the America Heart Association Seminar on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases. 

Following her retirement from Basset in 2003, Dr. Reed moved to Arizona with her husband and became a research administrator at Maricopa Integrated Health System. While there she developed a program to oversee and train medical residents to complete proper and ethical patient research. After her retirement from Maricopa in 2012, Dr. Reed continues to consult with several laboratories and hospitals. 

“Lebanon Valley made me think outside the box. It taught us to look at issues from new perspectives,” said Dr. Reed. “To think about what we are evaluating. Be willing to challenge the status quo.”

When she’s not working in her field, Dr. Reed volunteers in her Sun Lakes community in Arizona. The community honored her with the Crystal Award, which recognizes those who unselfishly volunteer their time and expertise.