In observance of Women Pharmacist Day, AIHP is please to highlight this podcast interview of Metta Lou Henderson, PhD, a longtime AIHP member and a pioneering researcher into the history of women in pharmacy. Dr. Henderson was interviewed by Melissa Murer Corrigan for her podcast series, MelisRx Scripts. Ms. Corrigan is a member of AIHP’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Henderson, Professor of Pharmacy Emerita at Ohio Northern University College of Pharmacy, has written extensively about the history of women in the pharmacy profession. In the podcast interview, Dr. Henderson discusses the experiences of women in pharmacy over the years and the contribution of women pharmacy leaders like Zada M. Cooper and Gloria Niemeyer Francke. She also shares her groundbreaking research about the important contributions of Catholic Sister pharmacists, especially in hospital pharmacy and the founding of ASHP.
Dr. Henderson is well-known to AIHP members. A frequent contributor to the Institute’s journal, Pharmacy in History, her published articles include “Charting the History of Women Pharmacists,” (v. 61, 118–20, 2019); “Zada Mary Cooper: Grand and Glorious Lady of Pharmacy,” (v. 40, 77–84, 1998); and “Sister Pharmacists and Pharmacy Organizations, 1900 to 1980” (v. 50, 87–96, 2008).
In 2009, Dr. Henderson donated the Metta Lou Henderson Women in Pharmacy Collection to AIHP. The collection consists of the research material that Dr. Henderson gathered in the course of her groundbreaking research about the history of women in pharmacy. The collection contains research notes, primary sources, and secondary sources.
Ms. Corrigan and her podcast series were featured in a recent article on AIHP’s website.
Access the Pharmacy in History JSTOR Archive
All past issues of Pharmacy in History have been digitized and are text-searchable at JSTOR.
Note: Academic libraries seeking subscriptions to History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals should directly contact the University of Wisconsin Press.
Read MoreUpcoming events hosted by AIHP
November 6, 2025, 3:00 pm (Central): AIHP Annual Business Meeting - Save the Date!
November 19, 2025, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Lauren Thompson, Kennesaw State University.
December 17, 2025, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Beyond medical pluralism: Interactions between physician-pharmacists and other craftspeople in the Graeco-Roman world with Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University.
January, 21, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Spring Semester Welcome Back Event: A critical reading of Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, hosted by Kelly O'Donnell, Towson Unviersity.
February 18, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Audrey Ke Zhao, UC Santa Cruz & CHSTM Research Fellow
March 18, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Ryan A. Kashanipour, University of Arizona
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Upcoming events of interest to pharmacists and historians of pharmacy, pharmaceuticals, medicines, science, and related fields.
November 13-16, 2025: History of Science Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
November 16-18, 2025: APhA Joint Federal Pharmacy Seminar 2025, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
December 7-11, 2025: ASHP Midyear, Las Vegas, NV.
July 18-21, 2026: AACP Pharmacy Education, Grapevine, TX.