It is with a heavy heart that I announce the recent passing of Dr. James R. Carlyle. I first met Jim when he was interviewing for a postdoc position (in his trademark shorts and sandals, comfort over fashion always for Jim!). Jim was a long-time friend and collaborator who introduced me to the NKR-P1 family, and through his inexhaustible enthusiasm for the subject published many important studies including his crowning achievement, the identification of the NKR-P1C (NK1.1) viral ligand (Cell, 2018).

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‘It’s better to collaborate than to compete’ was a phrase he frequently used. And he lived this motto entirely as many members of NK community, and outside it, can testify. Anyone who has met Jim will know what a friendly and helpful person he was. Jim loved attending scientific conferences and I think the biggest reason was to meet new people with whom to potentially collaborate and, even better, to make new friendships and discuss his favourite subject (NKR-P1) over a few beers.

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Jim completed his PhD at the University of Toronto studying early T and NK cell development with Dr. Juan-Carlos Zuñiga-Pflücker, and then went on to postdoc with Dr. David Raulet at the University of California in Berkely studying MHC-independent missing-self recognition by NK cells. His trainees, peers, and mentors will always remember Jim as a gifted scientist and a compassionate mentor, making his loss all the more painful to the scientific community. His research papers are a joy to read - logical progression based on well-designed experiments - and give first-hand evidence to his brilliant thought process. I highly recommend them to young investigators. His wisdom, scientific rigor, and love for immunology lives on through three of his mentees who are active in academic research. 

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Jim was too young for anyone to be writing this tribute. Our hearts go out to his family and especially his two sons. Their father will be deeply missed.

 

By: Andrew Makrigiannis with Oscar Aguilar and Miho Tanaka

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Published Dec 06, 2022