Kevin Duffy

Education

PhD (McMaster University)
PDF (Harvard Medical School)

Research Interests

Professor Duffy’s research aims to understand the neural events that permit sensory experience to shape brain development and function. His lab investigates cellular mechanisms that promote recovery from a vision impairment (amblyopia) caused by abnormal visual experience early in postnatal life.

Research Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Patents

USA Patent: PCT/US2016/046218 

Editorships

Associate Editor, Frontiers in Neuroscience
Review Editor, Frontiers in Neuroanatomy 

Selected Publications

• Birch EE, Duffy KR (2024) Leveraging neural plasticity for the treatment of amblyopia. Survey of Ophthalmology
• Duffy KR, Bear MF, Patel NB, Das VE, Tychsen L (2023) Human deprivation amblyopia: treatment insights from animal models. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 17:1249466.
• Duffy KR, Crowder NA, Heynen AJ, Bear MF (2023) Comparative analysis of structural modifications induced by monocular retinal inactivation and monocular deprivation in the developing cat lateral geniculate nucleus. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 532, 1244- 1260.
• Hogan M, DiCostanzo NR, Crowder NA, Fong MF, Duffy KR (2023) Investigation of the efficacy and safety of retinal inactivation as a treatment for amblyopia in cats. Frontiers in Neuroscience17:1167007.
• Henneberry JM, Elgallad J, Smith S, Duffy KR (2023) Early monocular deprivation reduces the capacity for neural plasticity in the cat visual system. Cerebral Cortex Communications
• Fong M-F, Duffy KR, Leet MP, Candler CT, Bear MF (2021) Correction of amblyopia in cats and mice after the critical period. eLife. 10: e70023.
• MacNeill K, Myatt A, Duffy KR, Mitchell DE (2021) Documentation of the development of various visuomotor responses in typically reared kittens and those reared with early selected visual exposure by use of a new procedure. Frontiers in Neuroscience 10:15.
• Fong MF, Duffy KR, Leet MP, Candler CT, Bear MF (2021) Correction of amblyopia in cats and mice after the critical period. Elife 31:10.
• Aronitz EM, Kamermans BA, Duffy KR (2021) Development of parvalbumin neurons and perineuronal nets in the visual cortex of normal and dark-exposed cats. Journal of Comparative Neurology 529: 2827-2841.
• DiCostanzo NR, Crowder NA, Kamermans BA, Duffy KR (2020) Retinal and optic nerve integrity following monocular inactivation for the treatment of amblyopia. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 14:32.
• Lingley AJ, Mitchell DE, Crowder NA, Duffy KR (2019) Modification of peak plasticity induced by brief dark exposure. Neural Plasticity 2019:3198285.
• Mitchell DE, Crowder NA, Duffy KR (2019) The critical period for darkness-induced recovery of the vision of the amblyopic eye following early monocular deprivation. Journal of Vision 19: 1-13.
• Mitchell DE, Aronitz E, Bobbie-Ansah P, Crowder NA, Duffy KR (2019) Fast recovery of the amblyopic eye acuity of kittens following brief exposure to total darkness depends on the fellow eye. Neural Plasticity doi: 10.1155/2019/7624837
• Lingley AJ, Bowdridge JC, Farivar R, Duffy KR (2018) Mapping of neuron soma size as an effective approach to delineate differences between neural populations. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 304, 126-135.
• Holman KD, Duffy KR, Mitchell DE (2018) Short periods of darkness fail to restore visual or neural plasticity in adult cats. Visual Neuroscience 35, 1-9.
• Duffy KR, Fong, MF, Mitchell DE, Bear MF (2018) Recovery from the anatomical effects of long-term monocular deprivation in cat lateral geniculate nucleus. Journal of Comparative Neurology 526, 310-323.