Meet Amanda Duffus
Faculty Spotlight
Associate Professor of Biology
Where did you earn your degrees? BScHons – Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; MSc – Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; PhD – Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London and Queen Mary, University of London, London, UK.
What are your current responsibilities at Gordon? I teach a variety of biology classes and am the coordinator for the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
When did you come to Gordon? 2010 – As a Temporary Assistant Professor of Biology, 2011 – As an Assistant Professor of Biology.
What are your favorite courses to teach, and why? I really like teaching Intro Bio 2 for non-majors because I like to help people gain an appreciation of the natural world. I also really like interacting with students in undergraduate research courses. These provide me with an opportunity to really get to know students and help them achieve not only their research goals, but also help them develop the transferable skills that they will need for their careers beyond GSC.
What interests you about your field? By training I am an infectious disease biologist. I study emerging infections in amphibians and reptiles. For the last 15 years I have been working on a group of viruses that affect amphibians, fish and reptiles, the ranaviruses. I have recently started to work on snake fungal disease with colleagues in the northeast, and will be starting a turtle health project this semester with undergraduate research students and other GSC faculty. I am excited about this field because there is always something new to learn and much of what we learn can be useful for conservation efforts.
What do you hope students gain from their classroom experience with you? I hope they will gain an appreciation for the world around them and learn transferrable skills.
Beyond the Gordon campus, I like to.. I like to fish, play video games, and spend time with my family.
Proudest moment at Gordon? When I was awarded a Highlander Edge Award by Justin Serna in 2018.