Recently appointed as Foundation Chair of Surgery at the Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick and University Hospitals Limerick. Professor Coffey is a general and colorectal surgeon with a special interest in minimally invasive (keyhole) surgery. His clinical focus is in colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), pelvic floor abnormalities.

After initially training in Cork University Hospital, where he received a PhD for work on cancer growth, he then trained in The Mater Misericordiae Hospital, St.Vincent’s University Hospital and finally completed a fellowship in colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He has delivered invited lectures in The Johns Hopkins, Memorial Sloan Kettering, The Cleveland Clinic and The European Institute of Oncology.

He has contributed to the generation of over €1.3 million research grant awards. He has developed several research programs including:

  • Characterisation of human anatomy
  • Development of novel techniques to identify cancer spread
  • Pathobiology of Crohn’s disease and development of biomarkers
  • Microbial ecology and role in Ulcerative Colitis
  • Determinants of outcome following colorectal cancer surgery
  • Identification of novel mediators in cancer development
  • Robotic Surgery and introduction of new health service technologies
Publications

White, E., Mcmahon, M., Walsh, M., Coffey, J.C., Walsh, L., Walsh, D. & O'Sullivan, L. (2019). 3D modelling of non-intestinal colorectal anatomy. International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. 14 (1): 73-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-018-1863-y

Mao, R., Kurada, S., O’Gordon, I., Baker, M., Gandhi, N., McDonald, Coffey, J. C. & Rieder, F. (2018). The Mesenteric Fat and Intestinal Muscle Interface: Creeping Fat Influencing Stricture Formation in Crohn’s Disease. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. izy331. https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izy331

Byrnes, K.G., Walsh, D., Lewton-Brain, P., McDermott, K. & Coffey, J.C. (2018 online – currently in press) Anatomy of the mesentery: Historical development and recent advances, Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.10.003

Sehgal, R., Connelly, T., Mohan, H., Byrnes, G.J., Peirce, C. & Coffey, J.C. (2018). The importance of the mesentery in emergency general surgery: ignore the mesentery at your peril. Mesentery and Peritoneum. 2 (4). DOI: 10.21037/map.2018.10.02. http://map.amegroups.com/article/view/4582/5642

Byrnes, K.G., McDermott, K. & Coffey, J.C. (2018 online – currently in press). Development of mesenteric tissues. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.10.005