We are very sad to inform you that Patrick Barron, COPE Council member since 2016, has passed away. We understand that Patrick passed away peacefully in hospital after being poorly for a little while. Patrick was an active and committed member of the Facilitation & Integrity subcommittee and he was always very thoughtful with his contributions.
Patrick was born in Scotland but based in Japan for the past 4 decades where he pioneered the idea of medical communications centres, and of in-house support for medical writing and the flow of information from inside the country to outside. He was also founding editor, editor, or editorial board member of many journals. More of Patrick's extensive contributions over the past 50 years can be read here.
It was a pleasure to have known and worked with Patrick and he will be missed.
Deborah Poff, COPE Chair