Dr. Keely graduated with a Ph.D. from University College Dublin. He undertook postdoctoral training at the Mucosal Inflammation Program in University of Colorado Denver, where he held a fellowship from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

In 2011, Dr. Keely moved to the University of Newcastle where he was appointed as an academic in the Discipline of Immunology and Microbiology in the School of Biomedical Science and Pharmacy. He established the Gastrointestinal Research Group at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), where he is also currently Director of the HMRI Immune Health Program. Dr. Keely is a chief investigator in the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Digestive Health.