Frances Oldham Kelsey
Born July 24, 1914
Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada
Pharmacologist
Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey made a name for herself as someone committed to protecting public health. She stood steadfast against granting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to the drug thalidomide. She refused to cave in to pressure from the Richardson-Merrell Company, which wanted to distribute thalidomide in the United States. The drug was already in wide use in Europe and Japan during the 1950s. The company tried to cast doubt on Kelsey's professional abilities and threatened that she would lose her job. Yet she insisted on further testing to clear up questions about thalidomide effects. Soon, reports began surfacing that the drug caused birth defects overseas. Due to Kelsey's refusal to approve the drug in the United States, she single-handedly protected countless unborn American babies from developing birth defects. Ultimately, her work led to stricter laws for regulating the introduction of new drugs.
Early Education and Career
Frances Kathleen Oldham was born on July 24, 1914, in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island in British Columbia,Canada. A bright student, she received a bachelor's degree in science in 1934 and a master's degree in science in 1935 from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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