Rena Sarah Eckman

Born Serena Sarah Eckman on March 30, 1868, in Schenley, Pennsylvania, she trained first as a teacher before studying domestic science at Drexel University and later earning a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. That mix of classroom training and practical science helped prepare her for a career in the fast-developing field of dietetics.

She worked as a hospital dietitian at several major institutions, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Columbia University, the University of Michigan Hospital, Michael Reese Hospital, and Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh, where she served for many years as head dietitian. She was also a founding member of the American Dietetic Association, served on its executive board, and helped establish the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association.

Eckman is especially remembered as the co-author, with Lewis Webb Hill, of The Starvation (Allen) Treatment of Diabetes (1916), a book describing an early dietary approach to diabetes care. She also wrote and spoke about hospital food service and nutrition, building a reputation as an important early leader in American dietetics. She died in Pittsburgh on November 8, 1946.