Alumni

Director of Molecular Genetics Research, Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University

Class of 1981
Arts & Sciences
Hometown: Arlington, MA

Dr. Clinton Baldwin earned his master of science degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1981. Now as the Director of Molecular Genetics Research at Boston University’s Center for Human Genetics and a Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Baldwin applauds Northeastern for its hands-on approach to education. He notes that his graduate studies taught him the value of careful scientific research and prompted him to continue working in the field.

Dr. Baldwin recalls working closely with Associate Professor of Biology Kostia Bergman, studying the bacterium rhizobium. “It was extremely useful,” Dr. Baldwin says, “going from receiving a bachelor’s degree and not knowing much about the real world and real science, to having this kind of experience.” While a student at Northeastern, Dr. Baldwin also worked full-time at the V.A. Hospital in Jamaica Plain, and is grateful for the flexibility afforded him by his schedule to both work and go to school.

His research lab at Boston University studies the genetics of human disease, specifically focusing on Alzheimer’s, sickle cell, and healthy aging. In 1991, his group was the first to identify a gene for Waardenburg Syndrome, and they subsequently produced an article which was among the top 25 most cited articles for that year. He credits Northeastern’s innovative programs for preparing students for their futures, adding that he has just hired a fellow Northeastern graduate to work in his lab.

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.”

Class of 2006
Arts & Sciences, PhD in Public and International Affairs
Hometown:

Although Michelle Lee began her career at Northeastern as a communication studies professor in 2000, she realized that the University’s Political Science Department offered her the ability to realize her goal of earning a PhD. One of her long-term objectives was to work in the public sector, and she commends the University for its experiential education. Dr. Lee says, “Unlike some PhD programs out there, which only focus on training future academics for more research, Northeastern connects theory with practical experience.” She was encouraged to actively apply her knowledge, and today works as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State, currently on assignment in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin.

Dr. Lee continued to work full-time as a professor while she completed her PhD, and credits her dissertation advisor, Dr. Amilicar Barreto, for his strong guidance, feedback, and friendship. She also notes that Professor David Rochefort was a particularly effective teacher and an instrumental advisor on her dissertation committee. A publisher recently offered to publish her dissertation as a book, an honor that Dr. Lee believes would not have been possible without her mentors at Northeastern. “I am proud of my own efforts,” she says, “but I couldn’t have done these things without the support of many advisors and friends at Northeastern.”

2009
Computer & Information Science, Algorithmic game theory
Hometown: Edicott, NY

Community is an important factor in the Northeastern graduate experience. Smaller classes, opportunities to work in multiple disciplines of study, and close working relationships with professors build the foundation of academics at the University. Laura Poplawski, a doctoral candidate in the College of Computer and Information Science, says the community environment has helped her in the emerging field of Algorithmic Game Theory. "We have a very interactive department," she explains, "so all of the professors work together. If one professor doesn't know something, they will turn you over to the right individual and that person will be happy to work with you. It is the perfect mix of working by yourself and working with others." In this sense, the College of Computer and Information Science offers the atmosphere of a small, close-knit college with all of the resources of a large, urban university.

"Algorithmic game theory is a relatively new area in computer science; a lot of things could fit into it." Laura describes her current research: In layman's terms, let's say you have a social network and everybody is only allowed to connect to a certain, limited number of other people. But everybody is trying to get as few hops as possible to everyone else in the network by strategically picking who to connect to. So the question is: what happens when everybody is selfishly deciding who to pick as their friends in order to connect to everybody . . . do you end up with a stable condition or do people keep moving? You can take this theoretical question and apply it to wireless networks, or to fractional connections, like time-based, or all sorts of different versions."

The new facilities that house the College of Computer and Information Science are an added bonus for Laura. "The brand new building," she says with a smile, ". . . I'm a big fan of that." Built in 2004, the building offers state-of-the-art classrooms and all the necessary technology for vanguard research and development. Accompanying the advanced technology in the classrooms is a refined architectural aesthetic quality that is unmatched. The building was awarded the 2005 Harleston Parker Medal by the Boston Society of Architects as the best new building in the Boston metro area.

2009
Computer & Information Science, PhD in Programming Languages
Hometown: Lewiston, ME

Collaboration is an important facet of the Northeastern graduate experience. So says Sam Tobin-Hochstadt, a doctoral candidate in the College of Computer and Information Science. "There are about six or seven professors who teach programming languages and close to twenty grad students," he explains. "We have a big lab where everyone is together. There's a lot of cross collaboration and a lot of opportunity to talk to other grad students who are working on related topics, bounce ideas off of them, get ideas from them." Collaboration among graduate students has aided Sam in his work with typed scheme—a system "we have developed to enable the porting of untyped script into larger typed or maintainable programs."

Faculty support at Northeastern has provided a great base for Sam as well. "There are so many professors who have interesting and useful insights. It's been a great place to work . . . My advisor is Matthias Felleisen, and he's been terrific. He's a really supportive advisor, he knows a ton about the subject, and he's really helped me refine ideas for my thesis."

Collaboration does not end at the department or even University level. Sam says that the city of Boston is beneficial to his education as well. "Boston is great because it has so many universities where there are people working on similar things. I've been to seminars at Harvard, BU and Tufts, at MIT of course . . . so there are great opportunities to meet people." Connecting with people at various other prestigious establishments, from universities to businesses, is part of the educational and cultural Bostonian experience Northeastern graduate students encounter. "There's even a programming language workshop series that is run in New England and that is mostly based in Boston, because that's where the big conglomeration of research is. So it's a great environment to do research in. There are so many people to collaborate with and learn from all over the area."

"The College of Computer and Information Science has been great for me. We have a really strong program in programming languages, which is what I study."