2017 Winner

President’s Award for Public Impact

LSA; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Meghan Duffy received her B.S. in biological sciences from Cornell University in 2000. After a brief stint working as a field technician in Antarctica, she moved to the Kellogg Biological Station and Michigan State University for graduate school. She received her Ph.D. in zoology and ecology, evolutionary biology and behavior from MSU in 2006. At the University of Wisconsin, she conducted postdoctoral research, which was supported by an NSF fellowship in biological informatics. From 2008-2012, she was an assistant professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech. She joined the EEB faculty at U-M in August 2012.

Duffy’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, especially in aquatic systems. In addition to her research activities, she writes for a popular ecology blog, Dynamic Ecology. She has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Barack Obama, the Mercer Award from the Ecological Society of America, and the Yentsch-Schindler Early Career Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

Duffy is currently a public engagement fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her outreach activities include teaching classes to middle and high school students in Southeast Michigan. She also writes for and speaks to general audiences, and is happy to speak with reporters about issues related to ecology, the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, basic science, diversity in science, women in science, public engagement and outreach.