Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, who received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Vancouver Island University in June 2012, has died at age 101. Dr. Kelsey is shown here receiving the Order of Canada one day prior to passing away.
August 13, 2015 - 12:30pm
Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, one of Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Honorary Doctorate recipients, died Friday, August 7 at age 101.
A world-renowned pharmacologist, Dr. Kelsey received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from VIU in June 2012. One day before she passed away, Dr. Kelsey was awarded the Order of Canada.
Dr. Kelsey, who was born in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, took a historic stand at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 when she refused to approve the release of the drug thalidomide in the United States.
The drug had been used as a sleeping pill and although it was considered safe for pregnant women to reduce nausea and vomiting it later proved to have caused thousands of severe birth deformities in Germany, Great Britain and Canada.
VIU History Professor Dr. Cheryl Warsh, who originally nominated Dr. Kelsey for the VIU Honourary Doctor of Science, is writing a book about her life.
Warsh interviewed Dr. Kelsey several times and has kept in touch with her daughters. She describes Dr. Kelsey as “one of the top five scientists in Canadian history.”
Dr. Kelsey’s Order of Canada nomination was initiated, in part, by Kelly Black, a VIU graduate and current sessional instructor in the Department of History, and supported by Warsh.
Dr. Kelsey graduated from McGill University with a BSc. and MSc., then attended the University of Chicago where she earned PhD and MD credentials. She taught at the University of Chicago and University of South Dakota before becoming a general practitioner in South Dakota.
Within the first month of joining the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960, her first file was a request for approval of thalidomide for use in the United States. The drug was developed in the 1950s by a German pharmaceutical company and was widely used in Europe.
During the initial application process, the pharmaceutical company put strong pressure on the FDA to approve the use of thalidomide in the U.S. particularly since the leading opponent, Dr. Kelsey, was a junior researcher who was new to her position.
She stood firm in her opposition and helped avert further extension of the tragedy that afflicted thousands in other countries. The impact of her decision proved to have an even greater impact when publicity about the thalidomide case led to legislation in the U.S. that requires pharmaceutical companies demonstrate the effectiveness of new drugs, report adverse reactions to the FDA and ensure that patients in clinical studies give informed consent.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy honoured Dr. Kelsey with the President’s Distinguished Federal Civilian Award, the highest civilian award in the U.S. When she retired at the age of 91, the FDA named one of its annual awards after her.
“Not only was Dr. Kelsey a new appointee at the FDA when she took her courageous stand against a powerful pharmaceutical organization, she was one of few women in such high positions in the medical field at this time,” said Warsh.
“By being a catalyst for the establishment of proper protocols for drug trials, she saved countless thousands of lives and should be seen as an inspiring example of how one individual can effect change on an international scale.”
To read more about the life of Dr. Kelsey, please go to http://bit.ly/1J6QiFh
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