Patricia Smith Campbell

Patricia Smith Campbell worked five years at Stanford Medical Center in pediatric research before joining ALZA Corporation, a California-based pharmaceutical research company, as a lab technician. Before long, she attained the position of research scientist. During her more than 25-year career at ALZA, she pioneered the development of the technologies that today allow millions of people to receive safe, painless treatments by using adhesive patches to deliver a controlled dose of medicine through the skin. Her research in the development of convenient, comfortable, and safe alternatives to injections made possible such now-familiar drug patches as Nicoderm CQ for nicotine addiction and other products used in the treatment of such ailments as hypertension and motion sickness, as well as in female hormone replacement. Her discoveries have resulted in 20-plus patents for medical products and processes and have improved human health around the world. Now retired, she volunteers with the West Bay Oper, and occasionally consults for patent attorneys.