Myron (Mike) Cohen is a physician-scientist and founding director of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID). Barbara Stephenson, Director of UNC Global Affairs recognized Cohen “because of his decades of remarkable international work leading to scientific breakthroughs which have enhanced Carolina’s global reputation and made the world safer and healthier.”
(UNC Global Affairs Excerpt)
Cohen is widely known for his research on HIV/AIDS, which he began studying more than 40 years ago. At the time, knowledge about the virus was limited, and research on its transmission and possible treatment was emerging.
In 2011, Cohen and his colleagues conducted a clinical trial in nine countries, including at Carolina’s research site in Malawi under the leadership of Mina Hosseinipour ’04 (MPH). The landmark study showed that early treatment, with antiretroviral therapy, reduced sexual transmission of HIV by at least 96 percent, proving that “treatment as prevention” was a viable public health strategy.
Cohen’s expertise in infectious diseases has extended to other pressing global health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, he helped develop the NIH COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network, which connected researchers across 55 clinical sites in 15 countries to coordinate large-scale prevention studies and accelerate global response.
Nominators said Cohen has “fundamentally reshaped global HIV policy and practice” and that he has helped UNC-Chapel Hill become “one of the world’s great research universities.”
Throughout his career, Cohen has authored more than 1,400 publications and accumulated more than 150,000 citations. His federally funded work has also spanned tuberculosis, immunology, cardiovascular disease and cancer. He has received continuous NIH funding for more than 30 years and helped bring more than $100 million in research funding to Carolina.
“What sets Carolina apart as a place for global research and medical discovery is the faculty’s commitment to UNC for the duration of their careers, allowing for the growth of ideas and, probably more importantly, unlimited collaborations across the entire campus,” Cohen said.
He has collaborated with hundreds of researchers around the world, and trained hundreds of students, fellows and early-career researchers. When asked about what he has learned most from others around the world, Cohen said, “leadership.” Many of those he has trained now hold leadership positions at their own institutions. This summer, Cohen plans to step down from the leadership positions he holds at the University to focus on his teaching and research.
Read more from UNC Global Affairs. Watch a video featuring Cohen [1:58, 3:30, 4:36]