To say that Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey was an extraordinary woman would be quite the understatement.
Born in Cobble Hill 含羞草研究社� a rural community between Duncan and Victoria on Vancouver Island 含羞草研究社� she went on to moving mountains in the field of pharmacology, the scientific study of the effects that both drugs, and chemicals have on living organisms.
Kelsey reaped several accolades as one of Canada含羞草研究社檚 first ever female pharmacologists including having a school named for her in Mill Bay, not to mention marking the meaningful milestone of living past 100.
Dr. Cheryl Warsh, a history professor with Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Frances Kelsey in 2012, just a couple of years before her centenary celebration on July 24, 1914. This incredible opportunity came after the release of Dr. Warsh含羞草研究社檚 book Prescribed Norms: Women and Health in Canada and the United States since 1800. In this book Warsh had done a chapter on childbirth with a section on birth defects. It含羞草研究社檚 a chapter in history that Kelsey is intimately connected to through her work in blocking the drug thalidomide from approval for use in the United States.
Thalidomide was sold under the brand names Conterganand Thalomid, and was an oral medication used to treat a number of cancers. It was first marketed in 1957 in West Germany and was sold over the counter at that time. When thalidomide was first released it was promoted to help with anxiety, trouble sleeping, and morning sickness.
Concerns arose after the drug led to the birth of deformed infants when ingested by mothers during pregnancy and it was removed from the European market in 1961.
Kelsey prevented thalidomide from entering the American market, and by the year 1962, she was one of the most famous women in the world. That same year she was the second woman ever to receive the President含羞草研究社檚 Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service from President John F. Kennedy.
含羞草研究社淚 had read that Dr. Kelsey was originally from Cobble Hill, so I looked her up and did some research like a good historian does, and I had found out that she was still alive, and during that time was living near Washington, D.C.
含羞草研究社淭he first thing I did was I put together an application for her to get an honourary doctorate through VIU [Vancouver Island University]. I began a relationship talking with her daughters, and I eventually had the opportunity to interview her in person a few years before she had died, which was amazing. I remember being invited to her 100th birthday celebration, but unfortunately I was unable to attend.含羞草研究社�
Shortly after turning 100, Kelsey suffered a fall and moved from Washington back to Canada where she lived with her daughter in London, Ont. In June 2015, a month before her 101st birthday Kelsey was named to the Order of Canada.
Merc茅des Benegbi, a thalidomide victim and the head of the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada, praised Kelsey for showing strength and courage by refusing to bend to the pressure of drug company officials and was quoted saying that Kelsey was always our heroine in Canada, even if what she did was in another country.
含羞草研究社淗er greatest accomplishment was being a part of the team that kept thalidomide out of the U.S.,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淥ver the years she worked on many files that dealt with women含羞草研究社檚 health. There was another drug called DES which had terrible consequences for children when mothers took it. Another one of her great achievements was how she protected women含羞草研究社檚 health, and how she educated people on thalidomide and helped them to understand how drugs have to be regarded with a great deal of caution and respect.
含羞草研究社淪o, there might be drugs that can help you, but you always have to know the downside of them, and if you could become pregnant or are already pregnant you really have to try and stay away from as many drugs as possible because you just never know. Thalidomide taught us just how fragile the fetus is, and how it could be affected by whatever the mother was exposed to.含羞草研究社�
Warsh, originally from Montreal, has been living on the island for the past 35 years. She spent just over a decade working on her latest book about Kelsey titled Frances Oldham Kelsey, the FDA, and the Battle against Thalidomide which will be available to purchase on May 21, 2024. Warsh said that some of her biggest highlights while writing her latest book was the relationships she formed with Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 daughters, and of course getting to sit down with the impressive pharmacology pioneer herself.
含羞草研究社淭here were also thousands of letters that the public had written to her over the years,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淩eading those letters was very cool and also definitely a highlight for me.含羞草研究社�
The sit down interview did not happen until Warsh含羞草研究社檚 second visit out of her five trips to Washington. Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 daughters had left for the day when Warsh showed up for the first time, and Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 caregiver at the time was unable to let her in.
含羞草研究社淚 said, well I brought chocolates,含羞草研究社� chuckles Warsh. 含羞草研究社淗er caregiver took the chocolates which was a good thing because as it turns out Dr. Kelsey did have a sweet tooth. She then passed along the name and number of her daughter whom I later spoke with on the phone.含羞草研究社�
Warsh made a second trip to Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 home when one of her daughters was present and the interview lasted for four hours.
含羞草研究社淪he was already 98 by this time and hard of hearing, she wore headphones for our interview and spoke into a device,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淪he was great, halfway though our interview she wanted a bourbon. She had a glass of bourbon every night, probably for 40 years. They had offered me one as well but of course I declined as I knew I had to make my way back to where I was staying in Richmond, Virginia.含羞草研究社�
Warsh recalls that during her interview, Dr. Kelsey would often get sidetracked by a squirrel that sat outside her window sill, and that she had this old and scruffy cat that she adored.
含羞草研究社淚 took my hand and clicked my fingers for her cat to come, and she sat on me for the rest of the interview,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淭hat was that, I guess Frances had figured if her cat liked me, then I must be okay.含羞草研究社�
This was just the beginning. Since all of Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 papers had been donated to the Library of Congress in Washington, Warsh made a total of five trips there.
含羞草研究社淚 had a research assistant in Washington, and I had research assistants at VIU and together we uploaded everything and put it on hard drives and brought it back and printed everything out. I still have close to 9,000 pages of her records. It was a big collection, she lived a long time and she was a pack rat, and she worked for the government which meant that at that point there were multiple copies of things, a lot of what I looked at hadn含羞草研究社檛 yet been curated by the Library of Congress.含羞草研究社�
With a full-time teaching position at VIU that keeps her pretty busy, Warsh dedicated time to working on a chapter every summer. Warsh said that her book is divided into three parts.
First, her early career.
含羞草研究社淭he records were so rich, that I was able to give a really good overview as to what it was like for her growing up with her family in Cobble Hill,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淲hen she was 15, she pretty much finished school, and from there went on to university at Victoria College.含羞草研究社�
Victoria College, which is now University of Victoria, was based at Craigdarroch Castle from 1921 to 1946. Warsh then looked at Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 time at McGill University where she received both her Bachelors and Masters degree in Science.
含羞草研究社淪he was really remarkable in that she was one of the first women to have a science degree,含羞草研究社� said Warsh.
Warsh also spent the first part of her book going though Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 degrees, her PhD, her war time work, as well as her time with the pharmacology department at the University of Chicago. Kelsey was encouraged by her McGill professors to reach out to noted researcher EMK Geiling, M.D. who at that time was first starting up the department.
As the story goes, with the spelling of Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 first name (Frances/Francis) Geiling presumed she was a man and was offered the position, which she accepted in 1936. Once she completed her PhD in pharmacology she permanently joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1942 where she met fellow colleague Fremont Elis Kelsey whom she married the following year in 1943. Kelsey worked a lot with anti-malarial drugs. Treating malaria with quinine marked the first successful use of a chemical compound to treat an infectious disease.
含羞草研究社淨uinine was in the South Pacific and because of the war, all of the nations that you could get it from were cut off,含羞草研究社� said Warsh. 含羞草研究社淎t that time allies were looking for alternatives, and people would send in the craziest ideas of what they thought might work during this time. Because Dr. Kelsey was a pharmacologist, everything she doing was though animal research.含羞草研究社�
Warsh said the second section of her book is all about thalidomide, while the third looks at Kelsey含羞草研究社檚 life and career afterwards. When Kelsey was 80 in 1994, Mill Bay含羞草研究社檚 Frances Kelsey Secondary School was named in her honour. Six years later she was inducted into the National Women含羞草研究社檚 Hall of Fame in 2000. Kelsey died in London, Ont. at the age of 101 on Aug. 7, 2015. Less than 24 hours after her death Ontario含羞草研究社檚 Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited her home to present her with the insignia of Member of the Order of Canada for her role against thalidomide.
Frances Oldham Kelsey, the FDA, and the Battle against Thalidomide is available to purchase through Oxford Press, Amazon, Chapters, and Indigo.
含羞草研究社淭he press told me it will also be available as an audio book which I am very excited about,含羞草研究社� said Warsh.含羞草研究社淚t is always important to show number one that you can have great people come from the most unexpected areas. History is not something from somewhere else, history arises from everywhere. What I have found since living on Vancouver Island is that there are a lot of really interesting and accomplished people who have ended up living here.含羞草研究社�
