Lost Women of Science

Lost Women of Science tells the remarkable stories of groundbreaking women who never got the full recognition they deserved - until now.

Dr Frances Oldham Kelsey
Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey
Dr. Leona Zacharias (left) and Susan Larson
Dr. Leona Zacharias (left) and Susan Larson
Klára Dán von Neumann
Klára Dán von Neumann
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
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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.

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We're not mad, we're curious...
...Okay, we're a little mad.

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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!

CALL: (415) 754-0625

Check out our Merchandise!

We have great Lost Women of Science branded products for sale. Please visit our shop to see the full range.

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