Jacalyn Duffin

Last updated
Jackie Duffin
Born
Jacalyn M. Duffin

(1950-06-09) June 9, 1950 (age 72)
Nationality Canadian
Education1985 Doctorat du 3e c. Sorbonne, History and Philosophy of Science (PhD)
1985 Diplôme de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, IV Section, Paris
1983 D.E.A.Paris-I-Sorbonne, France
1979 F.R.C.P.(C) Internal medicine
1979 F.R.C.P.(C) Hematology
1979 C.S.P.Q. Hématologie
1974 M.D. University of Toronto
Occupation(s)Professor in the History of Medicine, Hematologist
Known forMedical evidence of miracle which helped canonize Marie-Marguerite d'Youville
Notable workMedical Miracles: Doctors, Saints and Healing in the Modern World, Oxford University Press, 2009
History of Medicine: a Scandalously Short Introduction, University of Toronto Press, 1999; Macmillan, 2000
Title Hannah Chair, History of Medicine
Relatives Ross W. Duffin
AwardsW.F. Connell Award for Teaching Excellence, Annual Lectureship Award, First Year Medicine, Class of 2009 (shared with Dr C. Reifel, Anatomy)

Jacalyn M. Duffin CM FRSC (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. [1] 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. 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. [2]

Contents

Biography

Education

Duffin completed her MD from the University of Toronto. Soon after this, she moved to Paris, where she elected to study hematology and René Laennec 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. [3] She was given no information about the patient, but identified the young woman as suffering from acute myeloblastic leukemia, "the most aggressive leukemia known." [3] 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 (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." [3]

Works

Translator

Editor

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">René Laennec</span> French physician

René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec 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. He pioneered its use in diagnosing various chest conditions. He became a lecturer at the Collège de France in 1822 and professor of medicine in 1823. His final appointments were that of head of the medical clinic at the Hôpital de la Charité and professor at the Collège de France. He went into a coma and subsequently died of tuberculosis on August 13, 1826 at age 45.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stethoscope</span> Medical device for auscultation

The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, with either one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. A stethoscope can be used to listen to the sounds made by the heart, lungs or intestines, as well as blood flow in arteries and veins. In combination with a manual sphygmomanometer, it is commonly used when measuring blood pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Stowe</span> Canadian physician

Emily Howard Stowe was a Canadian physician who was the first female physician to practise in Canada, the second licensed female physician in Canada and an activist for women's rights and suffrage. Stowe helped found the women's suffrage movement in Canada and campaigned for the country's first medical college for women.

The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, Ontario, an annual induction ceremony, career exploration programs for youth and a virtual hall of fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Donnall Thomas</span> American hematologist

Edward Donnall "Don" Thomas was an American physician, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, and director emeritus of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 1990 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Joseph E. Murray for the development of cell and organ transplantation. Thomas and his wife and research partner Dottie Thomas developed bone marrow transplantation as a treatment for leukemia.

Wang Zhenyi, also known as Zhen-yi Wang, is a Chinese pathophysiologist and hematologist who is a professor emeritus of Medicine and Pathophysiology at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He is most well known for discovering the cure for acute promyelocytic leukemia while working with Laurent Degos in France, using tretinoin on a trial of 24 patients at Ruijin Hospital in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Marguerite d'Youville</span>

Marguerite d'Youville, SGM 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, becoming the first native-born Canadian to be declared a saint.

Connie Jean Eaves, CorrFRSE, is a Canadian biologist with significant contributions to cancer and stem cell research. Eaves is a professor generics of genetics at the University of British Columbia and is also the co-founder with Allen C Eaves of Terry Fox Laboratory.

Michael Allen Baker, is a Canadian physician, academic, and cancer researcher. He is Rose Family Chair in Medicine, former Physician-in-Chief, University Health Network and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. His research has helped to improve the understanding of human leukemia and other cancers.

Charles "Chuck" Gordon Roland was born on January 25, 1933, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Jack and Leona Roland. After a long and distinguished career as an author, editor, and Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine at McMaster University, Dr. Roland died at the age of 76 on June 9, 2009, in Burlington, Ontario.

Timothy J. Ley

Timothy J. Ley is an American hematologist and cancer biologist. He is the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, and is chief of the Section of Stem Cell Biology in the Division of Oncology at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a member of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center.

Ray Fletcher Farquharson was a Canadian medical doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. Born in Claude, Ontario, he attended and taught at the University of Toronto for most of his life, and was trained and employed at Toronto General Hospital. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, Farquharson was responsible for the discovery of the Farquharson phenomenon, an important principle of endocrinology, which is that administering external hormones suppresses the natural production of that hormone.

Mildred Vera Peters, OC was a Canadian oncologist and clinical investigator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas John Murray</span>

Thomas John "Jock" Murray is a Canadian neurologist, medical historian and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinrich von Louffenburg</span>

Heinrich von Louffenburg (1391–1460) was a Swabian priest born at Louffenburg on the Rhein, Germany.

May Cohen, OC is a Canadian physician and educator. She is best known for initiating the creation of a women’s health curriculum in Ontario medical schools and for her work as a women’s health advocate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Chochinov</span> Canadian academic and psychiatrist

Harvey Max Chochinov is a Canadian academic and psychiatrist from Winnipeg, Canada. He is a leading authority on the emotional dimensions of end-of-life, and on supportive and palliative care. He is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a Senior Scientist at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute.

Lola L. Cuddy is a Canadian psychologist recognized for her contributions to the field of music psychology. She is a professor emerita in the Department of Psychology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

The Walker Panel is also known as Ontario's Expert Panel on SARS and Infectious Disease Control. The Panel was established by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in May 2003. On 15 December 2003 the Panel released its Initial Report, which provided a series of 53 recommendations requiring urgent action. The Final Report of the Walker Panel was released in April 2004. It contained 103 recommendations.

Canadian Doctors for Medicare is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization that was founded in Toronto in 2006. The organization argues against the privatization of healthcare.

References

  1. "The Canadian Society for the History of Medicine / La Société canadienne d'histoire de la médecine". Cshm-schm.ca. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  2. 1 2 "Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Inductee". Associated Medical Services. Archived from the original on 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  3. 1 2 3 "BBC Religion & Ethics - Can a scientist believe in miracles?". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01.
  4. Canada, Governor General of. "Governor General Announces 61 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2021-01-01.