Dolores Cooper Shockley

Dr. Dolores C. Shockley (April 21, 1930 – October 10, 2020) was the first black woman to receive a PhD in pharmacology in the United States and one of the first African American students to receive a PhD from Purdue University. After obtaining her PhD she became faculty at the historically black school Meharry Medical College where she subsequently became the first black woman to chair a Pharmacology department in the United States in 1988. While Shockley was at Purdue University in the 1950s, black students were not allowed to get haircuts at the student center, which prompted Shockley and other students to petition the president to reverse this policy.

During her time as a chairperson, Shockley focused on improving the Pharmacology PhD program funding and training quality at Meharry. Under Shockley, the Meharry PhD Program awarded degrees to the majority of black pharmacologists in the country. Furthermore, her research showed that the effects of benzo(a)pyrene, which is present in tobacco smoke and grilled meats, are mediated by oxidative stress.

In addition, Shockley researched how calcium blockers affect the neurotoxic and behavioral effects of stimulants, such as cocaine, with the goal of identifying potential pharmacological agent to act as antidote to cocaine toxicity. Her research identified that Isradipine, a calcium channel antagonist, decreased the behavioral effects of cocaine in rats.

During an interview in 1997, Shockley was asked what her biggest accomplishment in science was. She identified her work as an educator and improving the PhD training program at Meharry, which was serving a predominantly African American student population. Shockley received the Lederle Faculty Award from 1963 to 1966. In 2017, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology presented the Dolores Shockley Minority Mentoring Award to recognize college members who have successfully mentored young scientists from underrepresented minorities in the field of neuropsychopharmacology.

Personal life Dolores Cooper married Dr. Thomas E. Shockley, a microbiologist. The couple had four children and was married for 43 years until her husband's death in 2001. She died on October 10, 2020, aged 90, in Nashville.