Mark Coyne received a B.S. (1982) from Iowa State University in Agronomy and International Agriculture, an M.S. (1984) from the University of California, Riverside in Soil and Environmental Science, and a PhD (1989) from  Michigan State University in Crop and Soil Science (Soil Microbiology) under the direction of James Tiedje. He was appointed assistant professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Kentucky in 1991 and became full professor in 2006. In 2014 he was named "Great Teacher of the Year" by the UK Alumni Association. Coyne currently teaches and conducts research in soil microbiology, ecology, and biochemistry. He is the Director of Graduate Studies for the Integrated Plant and Soil Sciences M.S. and PhD Programs at the university of Kentucky and advises undergraduate students in the Natural Resource Sciences Program. His research program in Soil Microbiology, Ecology, and Biochemistry has attracted over $4 million in extramural funding and focuses on N and C dynamics in agricultural environments, soil and environmental quality, fecal contaminants in the soil environment, and soil quality. He is the author of four textbooks in microbiology and fundamental soil science.