2019 INDUCTEE Jacalyn Duffin, MD PhD Health & Humanities, Health and Medical Education & Training, Public Health, Health Promotion & Advocacy, Women in Medicine, Blood
June 9, 1950
(Thorndale, Ontario)
MD, University of Toronto (1974)
PhD, Paris-I-Sorbonne (1985)
2023: Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada for book, Stanley's Dream
2020: Member of the Order of Canada
See All AwardsAwards & Honours:
2023: Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada for book, Stanley's Dream
2020: Member of the Order of Canada
2019: Genevieve Miller Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the History of Medicine
2013: Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
2012: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
2012: Queen's University Prize for Excellence in Research
2010: Howard S. Barrows Inaugural Teaching Award Visitor, McMaster University
2009: Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada for book, Medical Miracles
2007: Distinguished International Scholar, University of Pennsylvania, April 8 - 20
2007: Alpha Omega Alpha Visiting Professor, University of Chicago, February 27
2005: Honorary Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
2005: David Horrobin Prize for "Music, Memory and Alzheimer's Disease" best article in Medical Hypotheses 2005
2002: J.W. Estes Award, American Association for the History of Medicine for "Poisoning the Spindle"
2001: Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada for book "To See with a Better Eye"
1998: Canadian Nurses Association Annual National Journalism Award Magazine Category for "Medical Miracle"
1998: National Magazine Award, Silver, Science, Health and Medicine Category for "Medical Miracle"
Four time winner of the F. Connell Award for Teaching Excellence, Queen's University, Faculty of Health Sciences (elected by graduating class as professor with most influence (2009, 2001, 1999, 1992)
A powerful voice for the role of historical understanding in medicine
A Medical Historian, Haematologist, inspirational researcher, teacher, and advocate
Modern medicine emphasizes mastery of scientific and technical information, but Dr. Duffin argues that the humanities, notably history, form part of balanced, effective teaching. Her classic textbook, History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction, presents encapsulated histories of medical specialties, featuring the cultural and social factors involved in their development. Concise and accessible, it introduces complex ideas about the social definition of illness and the moral ambiguity of discoveries and treatments. Dr. Duffin has observed that “diseases are ideas,” an insight fundamental to all her work. As a bridge between the science and the humanities, her work helps others to see how changing perspectives affect society’s reaction to disease and those suffering from it.
Key Facts
Runs an activist website about the current drug shortage crisis
Was a top ten finalist in TVO’s Best Lecturer Series in 2007
Her research has taken her across Canada and the world including to the Vatican Archives and Easter Island
Her history of medicine textbook has been reprinted multiple times, translated into Korean, Spanish and Chinese, and a revised and expanded third edition appeared in 2021
Served as president of both the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine and the American Association for the History of Medicine
Her research has addressed a wide array of topics including diagnostic technology, rural practice, drug development, disease concepts, health policy, and an exploration of medical miracles in canonization
Professional timeline
Impact on lives today
Her passionate devotion to historical understanding as an inseparable element of humane practice inspires students, educators, and members of the general public. Dr. Duffin invoked Clio, the ancient Greek muse of history in her anthology of essays by physicians who apply history in their clinical work. In a sense, Dr. Duffin has served that role herself in the medicine of our time.
2025
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Volunteer contact tracer for Kington Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health
Public Health, Health Promotion & Advocacy -
Professor for Inaugural international course in medical history and Keynote speaker for the International Society for the History of Medicine, Riga Latvia
Health and Medical Education & Training -
Jacalyn Duffin inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
Montreal, Quebec
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Queen’s medical students launch the Jacalyn Duffin Health and Humanities Conference
Health & HumanitiesThe conference aims to create a space where learners and educators of all disciplines can discuss the intersections of health, medicine, and the arts and humanities.
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The Dr. Jacalyn Duffin Award for Advocacy was created by Dr. Duffin's former students at Queen’s University
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Initiated by Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, the Canada Drug Shortage website was launched
Public Health, Health Promotion & Advocacy -
Scholars gathered at Queen’s University in February to reflect on SARS from a scientific, historical, economic and policy perspective
The meeting culminated in SARS in Context (2006), edited by Jacalyn Duffin and Arthur Sweetman.
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President of the American Association for the History of Medicine
Leadership in Organizational Development -
Dr. Duffin was awarded the Jason A. Hannah Medal of the Royal Society of Canada for her biography of R. T. H Laennec
She was awarded the medal again in 2009 for her book Medical Miracles: Doctors, Saints and Healing in the Modern World
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The first edition of Dr. Jacalyn Duffin's publication, History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction, is published.
Health & HumanitiesIt remains an internationally renowned textbook.
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President of the Canadian Society for the History of Medicine
Leadership in Organizational Development -
Jacalyn Duffin meets Pope John Paul II at the Canonization of Marie Marguerite d’Youville
Father Constantin Bouchaud and fellow hematologist Dr Jeanne Drouin accompanied Dr. Duffin at the Vatican.
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Dr. Jacalyn Duffin became the Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine at Queen’s University
Health and Medical Education & Training, Women in Medicine, Leadership in Organizational DevelopmentDr. Duffin remained in this position until 2017.
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Dr. Jacalyn Duffin’s blind reading of a set of bone marrow samples came to be used in the canonization process of Canada’s first saint, Marie-Marguerite d’Youville
This experience led Dr. Duffin to produce her books "Medical Miracles" and "Medical Saints."
1987
I know no one who has the ability to inspire students better than Jackie Duffin.
Additional Resources:
- Canada’s Drug Shortage
- Dr. Jacalyn Duffin “Historian as Activist—Tales from the Medical Trench” | ActiveHistory.ca
- Jacalyn Duffin | The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Dr. Duffin's website
- LISTEN: CMHF Excellence in Medicine Podcast | Dr. Jacalyn Duffin
- Listen | The Legacy of Dr. Jacalyn Duffin
- SARS in Context: History, Memory, Policy (MQUP 2006)
- CMHF Laureate biography - Jacalyn Duffin
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