Jennifer (JJ) Reynolds-Strange

Biography

I am currently working on my dissertation project, tentatively titled “Defined by Molecules: Chemical discipline(s) and the reimagining of Traditional Chinese Medicine 1915-1960,” which follows the creation and dissolution of a research program in China where chemists and pharmacists worked together to investigate Chinese herbs for biochemical properties. My research interests include the history of chemistry, pharmacy, traditional Chinese medicine, 20th-century Chinese nationalism, Chinese scientism, and the intersection of research programs and political rhetoric. Along with my dissertation research, I have worked with UW-Madison’s School of Pharmacy to illuminate the lives and work of Chinese pharmacists who studied under Dr. Edward Kremers. I curated an exhibit at the American Institute for the History of Pharmacy in 2023 titled: Translating Tradition: Traditional Chinese Medicine and UW-Madison School of Pharmacy.

Education

M.A., University of Wisconsin Madison
M.A., Columbia University
B.A., University of Nevada, Reno
B.S., University of Nevada, Reno

Field

• History of Science, Medicine, and Technology
• East Asian History

M.A. Title

• “Building Molecules out of Characters: The Development of Organic Chemistry Nomenclature in China from 1850-1920”

Working Dissertation Title

• “Defined by Molecules: Chemical discipline(s) and the reimagining of Traditional Chinese Medicine 1915-1960”

Selected Awards

• Fulbright US Student 2023-24

Courses Taught as TA

• History of Science 201 – The Origins of Scientific Thought (F21, F22)
• History 201 – Shanghai Life and Crime (S25)

Courses Taught as Instructor

• History of Science 132 – Bees, Trees, Germs, and Genes: A History of Biology (Summer Term ’24)