New Season
In this first chapter of a new five-part season we meet Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, a physician and pharmacologist who joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a medical reviewer in 1960. Before the year is out, Dr. Kelsey finds herself standing up to big pharma.
It’s September 1960 and a thick New Drug Application lands on Dr. Kelsey’s desk. The drug has already been on the market in Europe for three years and Dr. Kelsey’s supervisors expect her to rubber stamp the application. The drug is called Kevadon. Active ingredient: thalidomide. And to Frances Kelsey’s keen eye, something looks off.
We're not mad, we're curious...
...Okay, we're a little mad.
News & Events
Want to Support Lost Women of Science?
Tracking down all the information that makes our stories so rich and original is no easy matter. Your donations make this work possible. Please help us to bring you more stories of remarkable female scientists.
The Lost Women of Science Tip Line
Here at Lost Women of Science, it is our goal to rescue female scientists from the jaws of obscurity, but we need your help! If there’s a woman you’re aware of who achieved something remarkable but has been omitted from the historical record, we want to know.
Leave a brief message at (415) 754-0625 and we’ll be sure to get back to you! Be sure to leave your full name, where you're calling from, and the best way to reach you, as well as the scientist's full name and her scientific field. We appreciate your support in bringing the stories of trailblazing female scientists to light!
Check out our Merchandise!
We have great Lost Women of Science branded products for sale. Please visit our shop to see the full range.