Dr. Michael D. Coffey received his B.Sc (1965) and Ph.D (1968) degrees from the University of Wales. He did his postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Dr. Coffey joined the faculty at Trinity College, Dublin in 1972 where he was honored with a fellowship (FTCD) in 1981. He moved to the University of California, Riverside where he is currently a professor and also curator of the World Phytophthora Collection. During his career he has published more than 90 papers in scientific peer reviewed journals. He has been an FAO consultant in both Indonesia and the Philippines advising on disease problems of coconut palms. Currently, he has a major program involved with developing a database for Phytophthora. He also has a research program looking at powdery mildew diseases including screening for resistance in wild relatives of tomato, pepper and melons.