The Science of Contemplative Practices James Duffy, M.D. Thursday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. James Duffy will discuss his scientific research on meditation and its effects on the brain and body.

Born in Liverpool, England, and raised in richly diverse ethnic environments in South Yemen and what was then Southern Rhodesia, Dr. Duffy witnessed the turmoil wrought by civil war during his formative years. Following his medical education at he University of Rhodesia, Dr. Duffy spent several years working as a physician in independent Zimbabwe. He later pursued further postgraduate training in internal medicine and diagnostic radiology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Driven by a desire to learn more about human behavior and further understand the experiences of his patients, Dr. Duffy pursued training in psychiatry and completed a residency in adult psychiatry at Brown University. Following his residency, he completed fellowships in neuropsychiatry at Harvard and Brown. Dr. Duffy is Head of the Division of Medical Psychiatry and Palliative Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry in Public Health at the Weill Cornell College of Medicine. In addition to his role at the Institute for Religion and Health, he is Medical Director of the Institute for Palliative Medicine at The Methodist Hospital. In this capacity, he is working to develop innovative inter-disciplinary models for providing compassionate and effective care for patients and families coping with incurable medical conditions. Dr. Duffy’s spiritual tradition is Tibetan Buddhism and is currently working on a book that describes the spiritual and personal development of the healer. The text draws heavily on the ancient perennial wisdom that underlies the healing experience. He has published widely on medical history, bioethics and medical education.