Professor Coffin is an Aboriginal woman, with traditional ties to her grandparents’ Nyangumarta country in the Pilbara region.
Professor Coffin is recognised as a prominent Aboriginal researcher; with expertise in cultural security, education and research across a diverse range of settings including chronic diseases, community development, health promotion and equine assisted learning.
Professor Coffin has been awarded numerous competitive grants throughout her career, with the most recent being awarded in 2020 from Healthway and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Having worked in the Aboriginal youth space for many years, Professor Coffin designed the Yawardani Jan-ga Equine Assisted Learning research program which is the first of its kind in the Kimberley, Australia and the world. In 2022, Professor Coffin commenced a new position as Ellison Professor Aboriginal Young People’s Social and Emotional Wellbeing at Murdoch University’s Ngangk Yira Institute for Change.
