Joan Reede Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership recognized for championing health equity

Compiled by MIKE CAMPBELL Awards and Recognitions

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Photo of Joan Reede speaking at a podium
Joan Reede. Image: Jeff Thiebauth

Harvard Medical School Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership Joan Reede has been awarded the 2024 W. Montague Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award by the W. Montague Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute (the Cobb Institute).

The W. Montague Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made a significant impact on the lives and health of underserved populations and has championed health equity throughout their careers.

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“In conferring upon Dr. Joan Y. Reede the Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award, we celebrate not only her remarkable achievements but also her enduring legacy as a trailblazer, visionary leader, and tireless advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine and beyond,” the Cobb Institute said in a statement announcing the award.

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Reede was recognized for her commitment to fostering diversity and community partnership in the medical field as the inaugural dean for diversity and community partnership at HMS.

Reede has spearheaded comprehensive programs to advance the recruitment, retention, and progression of underrepresented minority faculty; overseen diversity initiatives for faculty, trainees, students, and staff; founded the HMS Minority Faculty Development Program and directed community outreach programs; and led more initiatives to address critical pipeline and leadership issues for minorities and women in medicine, research, and health care.

The award was presented to Reede during the Cobb Institute’s Annual Program in August in New York City.

Named in honor of William Montague Cobb — physician, anthropologist, and distinguished professor of medicine and anatomy at Howard University — the Cobb Institute advances research with the potential to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and racism in medicine.

Adapted from Cobb Institute press materials.