Black History Is: Dolores Cooper Shockley
- Published26 Feb 2024
- Author Cyrenna Cooper
- Source BrainFacts/SfN
Dolores Cooper Shockley was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in pharmacology and the first Black woman to receive a doctorate from Purdue University.
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Dolores Cooper Shockley was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in pharmacology and the first Black woman to receive a doctorate from Purdue University in 1955. After obtaining her doctorate at Purdue, Shockley received a two-year Fulbright Fellowship to the Pharmacology Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. She returned to the U.S. after the fellowship and began her career in research and teaching as an assistant professor at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1988, Shockley became chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Meharry Medical College, making her the first Black woman to chair a pharmacology department in the U.S. Throughout her career, her research focused on pharmacological treatments to combat stimulant toxicity and nervous system damage caused by pollutants from burning fuels and other materials. From her work in neurotoxicity, Shockley observed that isradipine, a calcium channel blocker prescribed for the treatment of high blood pressure, lowered the behavioral effect of cocaine in rats. Shockley’s tenure as chair bolstered training and education for pharmacology students nationwide. In a 1997 interview, she noted that “half of all minority Ph.D [to science].”
Design by Adrienne Tong.
Image by Purdue University Archives and Special Collections.
About the Author
Cyrenna Cooper is the Web Communications Specialist for BrainFacts.org. She graduated from George Mason University in 2017 with a degree in Communications.
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References
Jordan, D. (2006). Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black Women Scientists about Race, Gender, and Their Passion for Science. In Google Books. Purdue University Press. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sisters_in_Science/_7WSzRAU_rUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=shockley
Saunders, C. R., Ramesh, A., & Shockley, D. C. (2002). Modulation of neurotoxic behavior in F-344 rats by temporal disposition of benzo(a)pyrene. Toxicology Letters, 129(1-2), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-4274(01)00467-2
