James C. Coyne

Remembering our final trip together to our very special place under the stars by the sea. Oh what a privilege it was to sneak off over the years and spend time together at our cottage.

I just realised that Professor Coyne has passed away. He will be missed. He was generous enough to give me his time every now and then until the end. He was always kind and considerate with me and respected the work we do. I will remain a fan and a groupie of his work. A fighter until the very end. We will continue to honour and remember his work in mood disorders in BipolarLab's training programme.

Jim was my postdoc advisor at the University of Pennsylvania. I was expecting to join him at the University of Michigan, until he called me just a few months before starting my fellowship, and said, "How about Philadelphia?" Especially during that first year when we were both settling in, I got to know him as a generous, protective, and irreverent guy with a wicked sense of humor. He encouraged me to think critically about our field, and gave me once-in-a-lifetime professional opportunities....

Jim was a walking encyclopaedia on the history and current state of psychology, a seminal and critical thinker who worked personally with most of the gurus we read about in psychology textbooks today. He was a justice warrior, going into fierce battle against the bad research that continues to pollute clinical practice and inform misguided and harmful public health strategies in the community and in the corporate arena. His attacks and masterful insults, directed with laser precision at...

I met Dr Coyne at a conference through my former honours thesis advisor. At the time I was a junior academic, just starting out. He gave me way more credit than I had yet earned, and I always remember that feeling. A bit awkward, but also appreciative. He was a giant in the field; at the peak of his career. But he took the time to include me in the conversation with his senior colleagues. That said something, and revealed a positive instinct underlying his actions. To connect and to share a...

When I talked to Professor Coyne via Zoom earlier in the year, I never knew it would be his last year. It was fascinating to tell him about the theories I was interested in, and hear how he had been part of the history of those theories. For example, I asked him what he thought about a theory I like, Lazarus' cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, and sure enough James knew and worked with Lazarus, and indeed had some interesting critiques. What an amazing career is outlined when you visit...

I spoke with Jim with some regularity 5-6 years. His work was foundational to multiple fields. His commitment and demand for rigorous evidence alone made him a rare creature amongst psychology trends in his extensive career. He was a good man at his core, that held only family above his scientific contributions. /Rest in peace

Very sorry to hear about this. Iäve had plenty of contact with James over the years via our shared domainof interest in ethical justification of healthcare and psychiatry, and linked scientific rigour in behavioural science and evidence standards in psychological care. A tireless tour de force, James was. I admired both his stamina and intellectual brilliance.

RIP Jim. Thanks for all your work and support on ME.