UL professor honoured for pioneering cancer surgery

A CORK-BORN surgeon now working at the graduate entry School of Medicine at the University of Limerick has received international recognition for his work in cancer surgery.

Professor Calvin Coffey, chair of surgery at UL and consultant surgeon at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, has been awarded the James IV Fellowship.

Each year, surgeons are selected from around the world to receive the award.

Prof Coffey will, in the months ahead, travel to clinical sites in North America, Korea and across Europe to present his innovative techniques in minimally invasive colorectal cancer surgery.

Prof Coffey said: “This Fellowship is a key piece in the jigsaw as we continue to develop educational programmes at the highest level possible for undergraduate students and postgraduate surgical trainees.”

Prof Coffey, from Blackrock in Cork, attended Presentation Brothers Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh in the city and received a BSc (Anatomy) Hons and PhD from UCC. He completed his surgical training at the Royal College of Surgeons.

His research has led to ongoing emphasis in cancer genetics, surgical trauma, infections and generating novel therapeutic modalities aimed at targeting each.

Prof Coffey returned to Ireland last year and joined the UL medicine faculty.

He previously worked at the Digestive DiseasesInstitute, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, where he completed a fellowship in colorectal surgery and furthered his research.

Prof Colum Dunne of the UL medicine school said: “Professor Coffey and his surgical colleagues at each of the clinical sites affiliated with UL have created an effective and enjoyable learning experience for GEMS students. We welcome the opportunity to disseminate the knowledge generated by these teams in surgical teaching and research, and, like all learning organisations, look forward to implementing new approaches that may result from this fellowship.”

The James IV Association of Surgeons was founded in 1957 by three surgeons from Britain and the US so that surgeons from around the world could be brought together to exchange ideas and techniques.

The aim is to foster the exchange of knowledge among distinguished surgeons in countries where English is freely spoken.

The association was founded by Ian Aird of London, John Bruce of Edinburgh and J William Hinton of New York.