珍妮·达菲Jeanne Duffy Assistant Professor of Harvard Medical School, Director of Chronobiology Core Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital

Take advantage of every opportunity that comes along, even if it may seem like a sidetrack. Down the road, it could turn out to be something much more.

Assistant Professor of Harvard Medical School, Director of Chronobiology Core Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Class of 1992 (B.A), 1997 (M.S.), 1998 (Ph.D.)
Arts & Sciences
Hometown: Boylston, MA
Dr. Jeanne Duffy has completed three degrees at Northeastern. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1992, she went on to complete her master's and PhD in the field of biology. While it was the co-op program that originally attracted Dr. Duffy to Northeastern, she chose to stay to complete her graduate studies because of the work of Professor Fred Davis. She worked with him, studying the biological rhythms in Syrian hamsters. Today Dr. Duffy heads a research team at Brigham & Women’s Hospital that does research on the biological sleep rhythms in people.
Dr. Duffy is grateful for the opportunities that Northeastern has given her. While a student, she was active in working with people from other disciplines to form the Graduate and Professional Student Association, which she says fostered strong leadership ability. She also enjoyed the high level of interaction between students and faculty, describing how the department chair involved graduates in important decisions, such as the hiring of potential staff. Dr. Duffy’s interaction with the University continues, as she notes that she has several Northeastern alumni and co-op students working in her lab.
Given her experiences, it is easy to see why Dr. Duffy advises graduate students to go somewhere that’s doing interesting research. She adds, “Take advantage of every opportunity that comes along, even if it may seem like a sidetrack. Down the road, it could turn out to be something much more.”