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Taking Care of Her People

Joanne Bisson plays ‘traffic cop’ after Duke biochemist wins Nobel Prize

Joanne Bisson, right, assistant to Paul Modrich, celebrates with Elisabeth Penland, a research technician in Modrich's lab, after they learned that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Photo by Duke Pho
Joanne Bisson, right, assistant to Paul Modrich, celebrates with Elisabeth Penland, a research technician in Modrich's lab, after they learned that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Photo by Duke Photography

Name: Joanne BissonPosition: Administrative assistant to Paul Modrich, James B. Duke professor of biochemistryYears at Duke: 10

What I do at Duke: I like to be busy all the time, but now since Paul Modrich has gotten the Nobel Prize, my whole job has changed. Now I feel like I’m a traffic cop for the phone calls and requests, be it for lectures or for him to show up at the UNC-Duke football game or show up at a Duke basketball game. It’s like my job, which was great already, is on steroids. I’m so happy. It’s like I got the prize myself.

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If I had $5 million, I would: pay off my house and my bills, and put some in retirement. I’d take another $1 million and fund cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I’d also help out my family members and near-and-dear friends.

My first ever job: I went to Pfizer pharmaceutical company when I was 18, and the reason I did that was my dad passed away and he had worked for 27 years at Pfizer as a lab tech. There were seven kids in my family, so I didn’t want my mom to have the burden of paying my college tuition. Pfizer offered me, if I worked 30 hours a week and went to school full-time, they would pay 80 percent of my college if I maintained a B average. It was a little bit tough because I was a commuting student, but I would do anything because I didn’t want mom to pay for that.

My dream job: to have an animal sanctuary. I love animals. I have two dogs, Andre and Mugsy, who are my life.

What I love about Duke: Duke offers you so many options here. If you’re not happy in your job, choose a different job. Find your niche and be happy because the best hours of your day are here.

When I’m not at work, I like to: be with my 2-year-old granddaughter, Savannah, and my grandson, Luke, is 4 months old. I can’t get enough of them. They are so cute.  

If I could have one superpower, it would be: to go back in time and visit my loved ones who have passed.

Something most people don’t know about me: I had a Pez collection that would fill this conference table. (She later gave her collection away to a family member.) On Fridays when I gave out paychecks where I used to work, I used to choose two and say, ‘You get your paycheck, but you also have to choose a Pez. Is it going to be Han Solo or Alice in Wonderland?’

An interesting/memorable day at work for me: It was my first day here at Duke. I have a habit of saying, ‘Just be nice to me, it’s my birthday,’ and I’ll never say that on my real birthday. My first day of work, some of the ladies in the department took me to the Washington Duke Inn for lunch. I happened to say, ‘Oh wow, it’s my birthday. This is the best gift ever.’ The waitress came over with a platter of all these beautiful pastries and desserts, and I was mortified. I sat there guilt-ridden. They thought it was hysterical.