Frances Oldham Kelsey

Frances Oldham Kelsey (1914 to 2015) was a Canadian-American pharmacologist and physician who spent 45 years at the United States Food and Drug Administration. As a drug reviewer she refused to authorize thalidomide for the market because the evidence for its safety was lacking, and her doubts were borne out when thalidomide was shown to cause serious birth defects. Her career coincided with the passage of laws that strengthened FDA oversight of pharmaceuticals. She was the first woman to receive a PhD in pharmacology and the second woman to receive the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service, which John F. Kennedy presented to her in 1962.