Jacalyn M. Duffin (born 1950) is a Canadian medical historian and
hematologist. She held the Hannah Chair, History of Medicine at
Queen's University from 1988 until 2017. Formerly, she was president of the
American Association for the History of Medicine and
Canadian Society for the History of Medicine. From 1993–1995 she was Associate Dean Undergraduate Studies and Education at Queen's University. She is most well known for her testimony which led to the canonization of
Marie-Marguerite d'Youville
Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian Catholic widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990 ...
. As of 2010, she has published eight books (as author and editor) on the history of medicine and has written numerous articles on various subjects relating to the history of medicine, miracles, and hematology. In 2019, Duffin was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Biography
Education
Duffin completed her MD from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
. Soon after this, she moved to Paris, where she elected to study hematology and
René Laennec
René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec (; 17 February 1781 – 13 August 1826) was a French physician and musician. His skill at carving his own wooden flutes led him to invent the stethoscope in 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker ...
at the Sorbonne. She completed her PhD in the History of Medicine in 1985, she then returned to Canada.
Vatican testimony
Upon her return to Canada, Duffin settled in Ottawa, where she took on a contract to review a set of slides, which she assumed were to be used in a malpractice suit.
She was given no information about the patient, but identified the young woman as suffering from acute myeloblastic leukemia, "the most aggressive leukemia known."
[ As the slides were from some 5+ years earlier, she assumed the patient as deceased, as that form of leukemia kills usually within two years.
Instead, she found that the patient had, after a relapse, gone into remission and was doing well some five years on. Duffin's testimony was to be used by the Vatican to determine whether ]Marie-Marguerite d'Youville
Marguerite d'Youville, SGM (; October 15, 1701 – December 23, 1771) was a French Canadian Catholic widow who founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990 ...
(1701–1771) had performed a miracle and was worthy of canonization. According to Duffin, "They never asked me to say this was a miracle. They wanted to know if I had a scientific explanation for why this patient was still alive. I realized they weren’t asking me to endorse their beliefs. They didn’t care if I was a believer or not, they cared about the science."[
]
Works
* ''Langstaff: A Nineteenth-Century Medical Life'', University of Toronto Press, 1993; London: Macmillan; reprinted 1999
* ''To See with a Better Eye: A Life of R.T.H. Laennec'', Princeton University Press, 1998.
* ''History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction''
** 1st edition, University of Toronto Press, 1999; Macmillan, 2000; Korean translation, 2006
** 2nd revised and expanded ed., U Toronto Press, 2010
* ''Lovers and Livers: Disease Concepts in History''. The Joanne Goodman Lectures, 2002, University of Toronto Press, 2005
* ''Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints and Healing in the Modern World'', Oxford University Press, 2009
* ''Medical Saints: Cosmas and Damian in a Postmodern World'', Oxford University Press, 2013.
Translator
* Grmek, Mirko D., ''History of AIDS: Emergence and Origin of a Modern Pandemic'', Princeton University Press, 1990 (translation of ''Histoire du sida'' 989 with Russell C. Maulitz)
Editor
*''Clio in the Clinic: History in Medical Practice'', Oxford University Press, 2005.
*''SARS in Context: Memory, History, and Policy'', with Arthur Sweetman, 2006.
Honours
* 2019 Inductee, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
* 2013 Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
* 2012 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
* 2007 Distinguished International Scholar, University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
* 2007 Alpha Omega Alpha Visiting Professor, University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
* 2021 Member of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
References
External links
Jacalyn Duffin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffin, Jackie
1950 births
Living people
Canadian medical historians
University of Toronto alumni
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Canadian women academics
Queen's University at Kingston faculty
Canadian women historians