Frances Oldham Kelsey

Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey PhD MD (July 24, 1914 – August 7, 2015) was a Canadian-American pharmacologist. She was 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 proven that thalidomide caused serious birth defects. As a result of her blocking American approval of thalidomide, Kelsey was awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F. Kennedy, Kelsey retired from the FDA in 2005, at age 90, after 45 years of service.

Kelsey died at her daughter's home in London, Ontario at the age of 101.Canadian doctor who kept thalidomide out of U.S. dies

References

Other websites
 Harris, Steven B. 1992. The Right Lesson to Learn from Thalidomide .
 Mintz, Morton (1965) The therapeutic nightmare; a report on the roles of the United States Food and Drug Administration, the American Medical Association, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and others in connection with the irrational and massive use of prescription drugs that may be worthless, injurious, or even lethal. Boston, Houghton Mifflin. LOC HD9666.6 .M55, Dewey 338.4761519.Library of Congress catalog entry
 McFadyen, R.E. (1976). Thalidomide in America: A Brush With Tragedy. Clio Medica, 11, (2), 79–93.

Category:1914 births
Category:2015 deaths
Category:Scientists from Chicago
Category:Canadian centenarians
Category:Canadian scientists
Category:American civil servants
Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States
Category:People from British Columbia
Category:University of Chicago alumni
Category:American pharmacologists