Jane Fay Desforges '42

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1981

Hematologist, Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine 

Jane Fay Desforges, a world-renowned hematologist, graduated from Wellesley in 1942 as a Durant Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa. Throughout her sixty-year career, she taught at the Tufts University School of Medicine and was the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine from 1961 until October 1993. Dr. Desforges was also a practicing physician at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.

Dr. Desforges was an authority on hematological disorders, such as sickle cell anemia, leukemia, and Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Well-known for her contributions to cancer research and patient care, she won numerous awards in the field of medicine. She served as the director of the Tufts Medical Service at Boston City Hospital and as the president of the American Society of Hematology. In 2001, Dr. Desforges received the Massachusetts Medial Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2003, she was inducted into the International Women in Medicine Hall of Fame.

Dr. Desforges was also recognized for her service to the Tufts community. She was a Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Medical School, and the Jane F. Desforges Chair in Hematology/Oncology was established in her honor.

Dr. Desforges died in September 2013 at the age of 91.