As we close another year, it is a time to reflect on our collective accomplishments, and the continued importance of preserving the rich history of pharmacy. We are deeply grateful for your ongoing support and dedication to the Institute’s mission to explore, document, and celebrate the pivotal role of pharmacy in healthcare and society.
As the New Year approaches, I wanted to share some highlights from the second half of this past year to give members of AIHP a sense of what I’ve been doing.
In addition to the standard administration, teaching, and scholarship that comes with holding the Urdang Chair in Pharmacy History and the Executive Directorship of AIHP, it was a busy summer and fall in 2024.
One of my personal and academic goals for the year was to actively engage and contribute pharmacy and pharmaceutical expertise to scientific and ethical discussions around varied topics. In 2024, the advent of new psychedelic medicines for mental health conditions featured prominently in the news and pharmaceutical circles. While I have written about pharmaceuticals, pharmacy, and intoxicants for many years, I was more intentional in 2024. With a focus on public presentations as well as conference attendance and organization, I was looking to make some contributions across the globe.
August
I attended a psychedelic ethics conference hosted by Johns Hopkins University and Oxford University in late August; on the heels of FDA’s rejection of MDMA as an approved drug for PTSD, I participated in the Hopkins-Oxford Psychedelic Ethics (HOPE) conference in Washington, D.C., and this gathering offered me the opportunity to engage with leading thinkers on the ethical dimensions of psychedelic research and therapy – and the types of roles that pharmacists will play in the future. It was hosted at the Johns Hopkins building on Pennsylvania Ave and wow. Just wow.
During the same trip, I conducted research at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) as part of my new book project on the history of independent and chain store pharmacies in the United States. It’s a fabulous place to conduct research and I was also privileged to take part in meetings and discussions around the future of APhA’s amazing historical collections. This building, which has a remarkable history itself, was such a pleasure to visit.
October
In October, I organized a workshop in Madison, Wisconsin that brought together historians and other scholars to share new research and think through outreach activities. With scholars from Canada, the United States, and France in attendance, this intimate yet impactful event highlighted Madison’s role as a hub for scholarly discourse on the history of drugs and pharmaceuticals. Over three days, delegates shared research on Chinese pharmaceuticals, psychedelic medicines, and one of the themes was how do we best communicate with the public.
Later on in October, I delivered a keynote presentation remotely to students and faculty at Kennesaw State University. As a part of “A Year of Canada” theme at Kennesaw, I talked about substances and drugs in Canada, particularly opioids, cannabis (medical/personal use), and caffeine. You can watch the recorded video on YouTube.
November
Still in Madison, I participated in the Psychedelic Symposium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The fourth version of symposium was sponsored by AIHP and the Institute also hosted a booth. The event innovations in psychedelic science and medicine, which the AIHP booth shared the diverse history of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. and underscored the city’s progressive approach to exploring the therapeutic potential of these substances. The talk I gave to delegates was about the key scholarship and developments in the sub-field of psychedelic humanities.
A week later in November, my engagement with new psychedelic medicines and their regulatory and societal histories continued when I spoke at Harvard University’s Psychedelics in Context conference. Harvard is one of the world’s leaders in this topic of inquiry and it provided an exceptional platform for me to add to interdisciplinary conversations about the social, historical, and ethical contexts of psychedelics.
I jumped immediately from Boston back to the Washington, D.C. area. I flew on to Arlington to participate in an AIHP Retreat held at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) offices. This event, hosted in the Lucinda Maine room, was focused on the future of the AIHP’s resources and developing more capacity in the years ahead. How can the organization grow? How can the AIHP live up to its mission? How can it support more people? These were some of the questions that were being asked.
December
It had been a long semester of teaching, research, and public engagement; however, there was a final and fascinating conclusion to the year. In early December, I traveled to Shanghai, China to take part in a 3-day workshop on the topics of medical humanities and psychedelic ethics at Shanghai University. Luckily, having already visited Shanghai in 2018, this experience was not totally foreign to me and I loved the opportunity to immerse myself in a different culture.
The event, called “Psychedethical,” the event was jointly organized by the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow). Situated in one of the most dynamic cities in the world, I was able to network and collaborate with colleagues from all around the globe. This multidisciplinary conference highlighted the intersection of global perspectives on medicine, ethics, and the humanities – particularly as they related to new drug development and the individuals who prescribe and dispense them.
Summary
Overall, it was a rewarding and enriching few months. My aim was to be more outward facing, more collaborative, to build academic bridges, and contribute to the evolving narratives in pharmaceutical history and ethics. While it was a busy time, the plan is to maintain the momentum in 2025. Please stay tuned for talks and events at AIHP – and I hope that you’ll participate and share ideas in the months and years to come.
Looking Ahead to 2025 and Beyond:
The coming year promises to be equally exciting. We will continue to expand our educational initiatives, including new digital learning tools and collaborations with more scholars and organizations. As always, we are deeply grateful for your ongoing involvement. Your membership allows us to continue these critical efforts and make a lasting impact on the future of pharmacy history.
As we think about the future of pharmacy history, we look back at our own. To help visualize this history, we have created an infographic as we collectively ask, what’s next?
More information about 2025’s programming is coming soon – keep an eye on your email!
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to another year of progress and discovery together.
Actively engaged in preserving the documents of pharmacy's past and developing materials for understanding the future.
AIHP Wants to Document Your COVID-19 Stories and Experiences
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is documenting and preserving pharmacy stories and experiences during the COVID-19 global pandemic for the benefit of future historians and scholars. We seek to record the effects of this public health emergency on all types of pharmacy experiences. We invite you to share your pharmacy stories, photos, videos, artifacts, and other documentation of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
You can participate in the AIHP COVID-19 Pandemic Pharmacy Historical Documentation Project either (1) by immediately sharing your thoughts/experiences and/or submitting digital materials or (2) by signifying your to intention to submit materials in the future. Please comply with all applicable local or state stay-at-home orders while self-documenting.
Please click the link below to learn more about participating in the AIHP COVID-19 Pandemic Pharmacy Historical Documentation Project.
Upcoming events of interest to pharmacists and historians of pharmacy, pharmaceuticals, medicines, science, and related fields. (Event information current when posted.):
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is documenting and preserving pharmacy stories and experiences during the COVID-19 global pandemic for the benefit of future historians and scholars. We seek to record the effects of this public health emergency on all types of pharmacy experiences. We invite you to share your pharmacy stories, photos, videos, artifacts, and other documentation of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.