Robin Reed

Robin Elizabeth Reed (August 1, 1956 – July 23, 2022) was an American professor of cell biology at the Harvard Medical School. Her research considered the molecular mechanisms that underpin neurodegenerative disease.

Early life and education Reed was born on August 1, 1956, in Akron, Ohio, to Nancy Nobel Reed and Lawrence Andrew Reed. She was an equestrian, taking part in both dressage and show jumping. Altman acknowledged her contributions to science in his Nobel Prize lecture.

Reed moved to Harvard University for postdoctoral research, where she started working on pre-RNA splicing with Tom Maniatis. Reed characterized the branchpoint sequence in mammalian introns. She also demonstrated that exon sequences affect the splicing site choice.

Research and career In 1989, Reed was made Assistant Professor of Molecular Physiology at the Harvard Medical School. She was promoted to Professor of Cell Biology in 1999. She identified the subunits of the SF3A1 and SF3B complexes.

Reed investigated the similarities between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and spinal muscular atrophy. Loss of nuclear structures called "Gems" are a cellular hallmark of spinal muscular atrophy.

Reed also studied the spliceosome, a multi-component RNA machine. The U2 spliceosomal RNA (U2 snRNA), is the target of the anti-tumor E7107, base pairs in the branchpoint sequence. She showed that E7107 causes defects in the assembly of spliceosomes and stops tight binding of U2 spliceosomal RNA. She identified that TREX was involved in packing and exporting mRNA.

Selected publications

Personal life Reed was an athlete, playing tennis and golf. She died on July 23, 2022.