In the Department of Health Informatics, Dr. Coffman has created and teaches two courses: Disease Processes and Systems and Translational Bioinformatics: Biomarkers and Personalized Medicine. These courses were created in response to specific program needs, and both have been well received by the students over the years as can be corroborated by the course evaluations and the student comments therein. With the advent of the new Doctor of Health Informatics program, Dr. Coffman has discussed how his existing courses could be modified to better align with the new program, and discussions are ongoing regarding the development of an advance Bioinformatics course with Dr Priya Kachroo, which would take advantage of Dr. Coffman’s knowledge of communicable disease mechanisms along with Dr. Kachroo’s knowledge of multi-omics applications.

Given his background in Clinical Pathology and related genomic and proteomic research experience Dr Coffman helped significantly with the supervision of our Ph.D. students who were in the Clinical Informatics and Bioinformatics tracks. The latter was no mean achievement since in active collaboration with me and the other faculty he helped bring down the number of dissertation students to a manageable number now by guiding them to completion and success with not
only their doctoral degrees but also their careers. I am eternally grateful for his able and extremely reliable help in managing our large doctoral student cohort as also giving new life to the bioinformatics courses which were languishing with the retirement of our only other faculty specialist in that track.

In the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and Practice, Dr. Coffman plays a central role in the teaching and administration of the courses, Macromolecules and Cellular Components, Cells and Tissues, and Pathophysiology (4, 4, and 6 credits, respectively) which together account for the major component of the program’s first year basic science education. As he has done for his entire academic career, Dr. Coffman has promoted collaborative interactions among faculty members in different departments; one example is an interaction between Health Information Management and the Physician Assistant program (and their medical director Dr. DiProspero) which is leading to better training of the PA students in the uses of ICD and CPT codes. Another is the recent collaborative venture facilitated by him between the HOPE clinic and our Department Faculty towards enhancing both of our (PA’s and HI’s) Academic Scholarship and Service contributions.

Dr. Coffman’s student course evaluations in both departments have been excellent to outstanding. The written comments emphasize his clarity and organization of lecture material, fairness of examinations, enthusiasm in presenting the material, compassion for students, and the willingness to work to ensure that they understand the material (including answering student emails late at night and on weekends). He has also taken a leadership role in course development in both departments and has either developed or made major renovations to at least one course every year he has been in SHP. It is not surprising therefore to see this third time nomination for Dr Coffman from the students for the Excellence in Teaching Award. Overall Dr. Coffman is a pleasure to work with and he enthusiastically supports all that is SHP and extremely loyal to his colleagues and students. His experience, enthusiasm and vision is indispensable for the current and future growth of the Department. He is clearly a highly valued asset to the Department and the School.