American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

Big Changes Coming to Pharmacy in History for 2021

Important changes are coming to AIHP’s scholarly journal, Pharmacy in History, in 2021, according to the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Lucas Richert, PhD, who also serves as the Institute’s Historical Director.

The name of the journal will change to History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIHP has entered into a new publishing partnership with the University of Wisconsin Press. Beginning in January 2021, the Press will assume the publication of the journal and will manage its production, fulfillment, and marketing.

Dr. Richert explained that the changes will position the journal to be an even better publication in the coming years: “We believe the journal’s new name, History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals, better reflects its broad topical scope and will allow us to successfully compete for the highest quality scholarly articles."

AIHP 2020 Annual Business Meeting

AIHP’s Annual Business Meeting was scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. Central/2:00 p.m. Eastern. The virtual meeting was streamed live on the Internet. 

The Annual Business Meeting is the Institute’s once-a-year meeting of members. It is an opportunity for Institute leaders to report on the organization’s status and activities and for members to ask questions of the Institute’s leaders. 

An important item of business on the agenda this year was a presentation on proposed changes to AIHP’s bylaws. An Institute task force earlier this year undertook a comprehensive review of the bylaws, which are the basic rules governing Institute operations. Another feature of this year’s Annual Business Meeting was a special guest lecture by John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, recipient of the 2020 Remington Honor Medal.

Please click the Read More button below to see a video of the entire 2020 AIHP Annual Business Meeting or a video of only John Grabenstein's historical lecture.

Historical Perspective on the Science behind Understanding, Preventing, and Treating Covid-19

From the Collections is a recurring feature at aihp.org that highlights articles, artifacts, images, and other items of interest from AIHP publications and collections.

In October 2020, as these words are being written, every day brings new reports about the nature of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the search for effective vaccines and treatments. Often, we are awestruck by the depth and breadth of scientific knowledge being applied to quell this threat to humanity. The continual flood of new information about covid from scientific and not-so-scientific researchers, however, can be overwhelming and confusing. Do we risk becoming jaded about competing claims of efficacy and mistrust the labor of the leading scientists and clinicians who are charting the way out of this pandemic? Would some historical perspective be timely?

Consider Donald D. Vogt’s excellent 1974 Pharmacy in History article, "Trends in 19th Century American Cholera Therapy" (open access until July 1, 2021!), about the chaos—intellectual, scientific, and political—surrounding the treatment of cholera in the 1800s.

New Social History of Pharmacy & Pharmaceuticals Festival

The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy and the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy were pleased to host the virtual, New Social History of Pharmacy & Pharmaceuticals Festival. The Festival was a free online streaming event that ram from Thursday, September 24 through Tuesday, September 29, 2020.

Videos of all Festival sessions are now available to watch on the: Festival website. For questions or more information, please contact: aihp@aihp.org.

The five-day interdisciplinary festival aimed to generate a discussion related to the under-explored social history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. We hoped the contributed paper panels, books talks, and invited festival talks stimulated/connected new scholarship and placed a spotlight on emerging trends in the studies of pharmaceuticals, drugs, and alcohol more broadly.

Nominations Announced for AIHP Board Positions

AIHP’s Nominations Committee has announced the nominees to fill the positions of two members of the Institute’s Board of Directors whose terms will end in November 2021. John Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, AIHP’s current Vice President, is being nominated to become the Institute’s next President. The Institute’s current President, W. Clarke Ridgway, plans to retire from the Board when his current term ends. Professor John E. Clark, PharmD, MS, FASHP, FFSHP, is being nominated to replace current At-Large Director Angela Long, who is leaving the Board after serving two three-year terms. 

The Nominations Committee will present these nominations at the Institute’s upcoming Annual Business Meeting, scheduled for Thursday, November 5, at 1:00 pm Central/2:00 pm Eastern. AIHP members will have the opportunity to offer additional nominations for these positions at the meeting.

Dr. Grabenstein was appointed to AIHP’s Board of Directors in January 2018. He was elected as the Institute’s Vice President in 2019. Professor Clark is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Pharmacy where he also serves as the Director of Experiential Education and Pharmacy Residency Programs.

AIHP Announces Changes to Awards Program

Following a comprehensive review of the Institute’s awards program, AIHP’s Board of Directors has approved changes to three of the organization’s leading awards: the George Urdang Medal, the Edward Kremers Award, and the AIHP Glenn Sonnedecker Prize.

Starting in 2021, the George Urdang Medal will become a lifetime achievement award and will recognize a person who, over a sustained period of time, has made important scholarly contributions to the field of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals.

The Edward Kremers Award will become the Institute’s primary award for recognizing significant publications and will be awarded to the author or authors of a specific book, or a series of related articles, in the field of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals.

Starting in 2021, AIHP will sponsor an annual competition for the Glenn Sonnedecker Prize that will recognize the best submitted unpublished manuscript in the field of the history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. The author of the Sonnedecker Prize-winning manuscript will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize, and the manuscript will be published in AIHP’s scholarly journal upon successful completion of peer- and editorial-review processes.