Dr. Joseph H. Roe received doctorates in chemistry and biochemistry. He was on staff in the School of Medicine at George Washington University from 1919 until his death. He was highly regarded in the biomedical community as a teacher and a scholar. He recognized the importance of accurate methods before investigations could be undertaken in the fields of nutrition, metabolism, and diagnostic medicine. He made significant contributions in the fields of carbohydrate metabolism and clinical biochemistry. The Roe-Keuther procedure for the quantification of ascorbic acid in biological tissues and fluids was widely used by the World Health Organization to determine the effects of food shortages on the people of Western Europe and whether widespread scurvy was imminent. Dr. Roe published over 115 research papers; many were assay procedures for analytes. He was the author of Principles of Chemistry, an introductory textbook for students in allied health fields. Dr. Roe received numerous awards, among them the the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry in 1956. He was to receive the Capital Section's award for outstanding achievement in clinical chemistry in 1967, but died just four weeks before it was to be presented. In accepting the award for Dr. Roe, Dr. Miriam Reiner said, "We will always remember him for his loyal friendship and his many acts of kindness. He was a great teacher and a good friend. He was truly a scientist, a scholar, and a gentleman. We will all miss him." This award was re-named the Joseph H. Roe award in his honor.
You can read more about Dr. Roe in a biographical sketch "Joseph H. Roe (1892-1967): American Man of Science, Pioneer Clinical Chemist" by Eugene W. Rice, Clinical Chemistry, 1984, Vol. 30, pages 1575-8.