Prof. Deborah McNamara

Professor Deborah McNamara is a Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin; Clinical Professor in Surgery at the RCSI University of Medicine and Heath Sciences; Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery and Vice President at RCSI. She qualified from Trinity College Dublin and completed surgical training in Ireland and France, specializing in colorectal cancer surgery. 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 2020. She served as Co-Lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery (2017-2024), leading large-scale healthcare improvement programmes in areas such as operating theatre efficiency, surgical care pathways and models of care for surgical specialties. She has received a number of national and international distinctions including the Patey Prize, the AWS Olga Jonasson Award, the Millin Lecture and Honorary Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons.