Name

Professor Deborah McNamara

Professor Deborah McNamara qualified from Trinity College, Dublin and completed higher surgical training in Ireland followed by a colorectal fellowship in France, specializing in the surgical management of colorectal cancer. She was appointed Consultant in General and Colorectal Surgery in Beaumont in 2003. She was Programme Director of the National Higher Surgical Training Programme in General Surgery (2010-2013) and Clinical Director for Surgery at Beaumont Hospital (2014-2017). Her work as Chair of the Colorectal Cancer Guidelines and Clinical Leads groups of the Irish National Cancer Control Programme (2011-2024) lead to the publication of the first National Clinical Guidelines for colon and rectal cancer, endorsed by the Minister for Health as national policy. In 2017, she chaired the group that published the RCSI PROGRESS report, setting out an ambitious strategy to improve gender equality in surgery in Ireland. She served as Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery (2017-2024), leading large-scale healthcare improvement programmes in areas such as patient safety, operating theatre efficiency, surgical care pathways and models of care for surgical specialties. She was conferred with a higher degree by research and has published more than 225 peer-reviewed papers. She has received a number of national and international distinctions including the Patey Prize of the Surgical Research Society, the AWS Olga Jonasson Award, the Millin Lecture and Honorary Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons. She is President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.