Joseph T. Coyle Jr., M.D., '65
Here at Holy Cross, we often invoke the Jesuit credo, "Men and Women for Others." But the full weight and significance of this phrase is best exemplified when we consider how it informs the lives of alumni like Joseph T. Coyle '65. For, as Joe has testified, it was the plight of a schizophrenic family friend that drew him into the field of neuroscience. And, from that encounter, Joe's dedication to psychiatric research has been rooted in an imperative that is as emotional as it is intellectual. This is a man who insists on instilling compassion in the heart of the clinic.
The Eben S. Draper Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, Joe is at the forefront of research on treatments for such conditions as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. As his colleague, the renowned Dr. Solomon Snyder, has noted, "Dr. Coyle has profoundly impacted biological psychiatry through a series of major discoveries."
Following graduation from Holy Cross, Joe pursued his medical degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. After an internship in pediatrics, he spent three years at the National Institutes of Health as a research fellow. Returning to Johns Hopkins, he completed his psychiatric residency and subsequently joined the faculty there. Named a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry in 1980, he became the director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 1982; in 1985 he was named the Distinguished Service Professor. Joe joined the staff of Harvard Medical School in 1991, becoming the chair of the consolidated department of psychiatry, which included the nine hospital programs of psychiatry affiliated with the school.
He is the recipient of the John Jacob Abel Award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics; the Gold Medal Award from the Society for Biological Psychiatry; the Efron Award from the American College of Neuropsycho-pharmacology; the Foundation Fund Research Award from the American Psychiatric Association; the McAlpin Award from the National Mental Health Association; the Salmon Award from the New York Academy of Medicine; and the Pasarow Foundation Award for Neuroscience. The author of over 500 scientific articles and the editor of seven books, Joe is also the editor in chief of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
For his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of biological psychiatry, for his lifelong research into treatments for those tormented by the scourge of schizophrenia, for his crusade against the stigma attached to mental illness, the College of the Holy Cross presents to Joseph T. Coyle '65 the Sanctae Crucis Award.