In 1984, Coard became a lecturer in the Pathology Department of the UWI, as well as working as a consultant pathologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies. She also worked as a consultant pathologist to the General Hospital in St. Georges, Grenada, Cornwall Regional Hospital, and the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, UK. From 1991 to 2003, she served as a senior lecturer at the UWI, and in 2003, she was appointed as Professor of Pathology. She is the first female professor of pathology in the Caribbean as well as the first female graduate of the university's Doctor of Medicine programme to be appointed to the post.[1][2][3] She is known for her contribution to the enhancements in treatment of cardiovascular diseases, prostate cancer, and soft tissue tumors.[2][3][4][6] She is specifically credited for her research on Jamaica and the Caribbean, that has been used for the treatment of major medical problems in the regions.[2][3][4] For example, she conducted research on the genetic associations and potential risk factors for cancer in men of African descent, as well as on perinatal mortality in Jamaica.[2]
She is a founding member of the Caribbean Cardiac Society (CCS) and the Jamaican Association of Clinical Pathologists (JACP). She was the president of JACP from 2003 to 2005, as well as assistant secretary of the CSS from 2002.[4] She is also a fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.[5]
Coard, Kathleen C. M.; Fletcher, Horace (2002). "Leiomyosarcoma of the Uterus with a Florid Intravascular Component ('Intravenous Leiomyosarcomatosis')". International Journal of Gynecological Pathology. 21 (2): 182–185. doi:10.1097/00004347-200204000-00012. ISSN1538-7151. PMID11917229.
Ritch, Chad R.; Morrison, Belinda F.; Hruby, Greg; Coard, Kathleen; Mayhew, Richard; Aiken, William; Benson, Mitchell C.; McKiernan, James M. (2012). "Pathological outcome and biochemical recurrence-free survival after radical prostatectomy in African-American, Afro-Caribbean (Jamaican) and Caucasian-American men: an international comparison". BJU International. 111 (4b): 186–190. doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2012.11540.x. ISSN1464-410X. PMID23107067. S2CID9642597.
Jackson, Maria; Walker, Susan P.; Simpson-Smith, Candace M.; Lindsay, Carole M.; Smith, Garret; McFarlane-Anderson, Norma; Bennett, Franklyn I.; Coard, Kathleen C. M.; Aiken, William D.; Tulloch, Trevor; Paul, Tomlin J.; Wan, Robert L. (2012). "Associations of whole-blood fatty acids and dietary intakes with prostate cancer in Jamaica". Cancer Causes & Control. 23 (1): 23–33. doi:10.1007/s10552-011-9850-4. ISSN1573-7225. PMID21984307. S2CID15440505.