The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP) is delighted to announce that Dr. Kelly S. O’Donnell will assume the role of Editor-in-Chief of History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals (HoPP) beginning March 2026.
Dr. O’Donnell brings to HoPP a distinguished record as a mid-career historian of medicine, gender, reproduction, and health activism. Currently an Assistant Professor of History at Towson University, she has previously held appointments at Bryn Mawr College, Yale University, Thomas Jefferson University, and the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine, where she was an NEH Postdoctoral Fellow.
Dr. O’Donnell is the author of the forthcoming book The Pill Hearings: Science, Politics, and the Fate of Birth Control in America (Rutgers University Press), and her articles have appeared in leading journals, including the Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Social Science & Medicine, Signs, and History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals.
Her leadership roles across the field include service as a Councilor of the American Association for the History of Medicine, co-convener of the Consortium’s History of Pharmacy Working Group, and member of numerous scholarly prize and steering committees. Across her career, she has demonstrated a sustained commitment to interdisciplinarity, mentorship, and public engagement—appearing on podcasts, contributing to popular history platforms, and serving as a 2022–2023 Public Voices Fellow at Yale University’s Women Faculty Forum.
Dr. O’Donnell is no stranger to the HoPP community. From 2019 to 2026, she served as a Contributing Editor for the journal and, with Dr. Lauren MacIvor Thompson, co-edited the 2024 special issue “Regulating Reproduction in the History of Pharmaceuticals and Drugs.” This experience gives her deep familiarity with the journal’s mission, operations, and scholarly community. And it uniquely positions her to lead HoPP with insight, continuity, and a strong editorial vision. As an incoming Editor-in-Chief, Dr. O’Donnell will join Professor Lucas Richert and help guide HoPP into its next chapter, strengthening the journal’s reputation as a leading venue for scholarship on the history of drugs, medicines, and pharmaceuticals around the world.
AIHP looks forward to her vision for expanding the journal’s reach, supporting emerging scholars, and building on its long-standing traditions of rigorous, inclusive, and field-shaping historical research. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Kelly S. O’Donnell to HoPP and congratulating her on this important new role.
