5 African American Pharmaceutical Pioneers: Honouring Black History Month

In recognition of February as Black History Month in the United States, we cover the lives and works of five pioneering African American pharmaceutical professionals who have contributed significantly to the world of pharmaceuticals and drug development.

James McCune Smith 

Smith was the first African American man to earn a Medical Degree, which obtained from the University of Glasgow in 1835 before returning to the United States. There, he obtained a master’s degree and a medical degree before becoming the first African American man to run a pharmacy [1]. 

Smith was also a prominent abolitionist and public intellectual. With his medical training, he refuted many 19th-century misconceptions regarding race, medicine, and society [1]. He was the first African American to be published in medical journals and wrote many an essay addressing scientific racism [2]. 

The James McCune Smith Learning Hub at the University of Glasgow boasts a world-leading learning and teaching facility in honour of Smith’s life and work [3]. 

Anna Louise James 

This pioneering pharmacist was the first African American woman to graduate from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, the only woman in her year. A year after graduating, she became the first licensed pharmacist in Connecticut in 1909, and one of the first African American female pharmacists in the US [4]. Her pharmacy, named the James Pharmacy, remained operational until 1967 [5].  

During her time at her pharmacy, she helped those with prescriptions during financially trying times, such as the Great Depression [4]. 

Image taken from Wikimedia Commons

Mary Munson Runge 

Runge’s father was the town of Donaldsonville, Louisiana’s first pharmacist, known for advocating for patients to receive their required treatments [6]. Following in his footsteps, Runge graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy in 1948 before moving to California and working in hospital pharmacy for 21 years as one of a few female pharmacists in the country [6]. She eventually transitioned to community pharmacy work in Oakland, California, serving deprived patient areas and helping poor African American patients in obtaining their treatments [6]. 

In 1979, Runge became the first woman and the first African American to be elected President of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) [7]. This marked a milestone in the association’s century-long leadership by white men. Her time at the APhA was devoted to increasing diversity in the pharmaceutical industry [7]. The APhA now offers a scholarship to a student member in Runge’s name [7]. 

Image taken from African American Registry

Jocelyn Elders 

Elders was the first black woman to serve in a public health official role as the US surgeon general from 1993-94 [8]. Her work in public health administration helped shape US public health policies for years to come [8]. 

Elders served in the US army, training as a physical therapist [8]. After joining the University of Arkansas Medical Center’s medical school faculty in 1967, she was appointed to the office of director of public health in 1987 [9]. Her tenure was marked by her frank conversations and policies towards sex education, substance-abuse prevention, and immunisation education [9]. Though she was met with scepticism in these policies, her work achieved reductions in teen pregnancies, increased early childhood screenings and immunisation rates, and expanded HIV testing accessibility [9].  

Kizzmekia Corbett 

Dr Kizzmekia Corbett is currently an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health [10] Her work and expertise in viral immunology helped develop one of the first approved vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a turning point in the disease’s history. 

Corbett’s team worked closely with Moderna Inc. to develop and deploy the mRNA-1273 vaccine in phase I clinical trials only 66 days after viral sequence release [11]. The vaccine was part of a global vaccine effort in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and witnessed unprecedented speed in vaccine development [11].  

The Corbett team’s vaccine portfolio includes universal coronavirus vaccine concepts and other novel therapeutic antibodies [11]. She has also worked on the development of a universal influenza vaccine that will see phase I clinical trials in the near future [11]. Corbett is a member of the NIH Fellows committee and advocates for STEM education and vaccine awareness through her research and mentorship [11].

Image taken from Getty Images

References