Skip to main content

Program in Cancer Biology

Robert Coffey, M.D.

Professor of Medicine (Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition), Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology

I am a physician-scientist whose work extends from basic cell biology to clinical investigation. A main focus of my research is the role of the EGF receptor (EGFR) and its ligands in GI neoplasia with a special emphasis on colorectal cancer (CRC). The lab discovered the EGFR negative regulator, Lrig1, marks colonic stem cells and acts as a tumor suppressor in vivo. The lab also described a new mode of EGFR ligand signaling via exosomes and recently identified a new secreted nanoparticle, termed a supermere. I directed the GI Cancer Program within the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) for over 20 years before stepping down in 2013 to focus on the VICC NCI-funded GI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) and the Vanderbilt Epithelial Biology Center, which I co-direct. I am PI of the VICC GI SPORE, which focuses on CRC; it has been funded since 2002 and was recently renewed for an additional 5 years. I am also contact PI of Vanderbilt’s NCI-funded Human Tumor Atlas Network award that has resulted in the finding that sessile serrated lesions arise from gastric metaplasia in Cell in 2021 and the identification of a 4-gene immune-exclusion signature in microsatellite CRC in Cell in 2023. With training in medical oncology and gastroenterology, I have a unique perspective on the basic biology and translational opportunities in CRC. I am Professor of Medicine and Cell & Developmental Biology, the John B. Wallace Professor of Medicine, and an Ingram Professor of Cancer Research. I am a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, American Association of Physicians, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. I recently renewed my NCI Outstanding Investigator Award.