Frances Oldham Kelsey
| Frances Oldham Kelsey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Frances Kathleen Oldham July 24, 1914 Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | August 7, 2015 (aged 101) London, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater |
Victoria College, British Columbia McGill University University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Pharmacologist, physician |
| Known for | Preventing thalidomide from being marketed in the United States |
| Spouse(s) | Fremont Ellis Kelsey (m. 1943, died 1966) |
| Children | 2 |
Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey, CM (July 24, 1914 – August 7, 2015) was a Canadian pharmacologist and physician. As a reviewer for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she refused to authorize thalidomide for market because she had concerns about the drug's safety. Her concerns proved to be justified when it was shown that thalidomide caused serious birth defects. Kelsey's career intersected with the passage of laws strengthening FDA oversight of pharmaceuticals. Kelsey was the second woman to be awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F. Kennedy.
Born in Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Kelsey attended St. Margaret's School in the provincial capital, graduating at age 15. From 1930-1931 she attended Victoria College (now University of Victoria). She then crossed the country to enroll at McGill University, where she received both a B.Sc.(1934) and a M.Sc.(1935) in pharmacology,. Encouraged by one of her professors, she "wrote to EMK Geiling, M.D., a noted researcher [who] was starting up a new pharmacology department at the University of Chicago, asking for a position doing graduate work". Geiling presumed that Frances was a man and offered her the position, which she accepted, starting work in 1936.
During her second year, Geiling was retained by the FDA to research unusual deaths related to elixir sulfanilamide, a sulfonamide medicine. Kelsey assisted on this research project, which showed that the 107 deaths were caused by the use of diethylene glycol as a solvent. The next year, the United States Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. That same year she completed her studies and received a Ph.D. in pharmacology at the University of Chicago. Working with Geiling led to her interest in teratogens, drugs that cause congenital malformations (birth defects).
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