Harvey Cohen, MD

Walter Kempner Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine
Director, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
Duke University Medical Center

Adjunct Professor, Health Policy and Administration
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health
cohen015@mc.duke.edu

Dr. Cohen's scholarly and teaching efforts intersect the medical humanities in a number of ways. On the research front, he is involved in studies assessing the importance of religion and spirituality in health and aging. In particular, he has been interested in the correlation of physiological condition and religious activity. On the teaching front, Dr. Cohen teaches medical ethics to house staff and medical students, especially concentrating on effective communication and issues surrounding quality of life. He has also taught and written about ethical issues in clinical research.

Dr. Cohen's research program also includes work involving quality-of-life assessment for elderly cancer patients undergoing treatment; an investigation into the role of social factors within an immunologic epidemiology study; and an analysis of geriatric evaluation and management practice.

Cohen is also a Senior Fellow of Duke's Center for Health Policy Research and Education, and is active in several executive committees at Duke.  He is a past president of the Gerontological Society of America, the American Geriatrics Society, and the International Society for Geriatric Oncology.  He has served as Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute on Aging, the advisory committees of AARP Pharmacy Services, Meharry Medical College’s Center on Aging, and the Donald B. Reynolds Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Federation for Aging Research.  He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences. Dr. Cohen has been a Presidential Delegate on Aging at the White House, has been listed among the "Best Doctors in America" several times, and has been recognized by awards from Duke Medical School and Medical Alumni, the American Medical Association, the Gerontological Society of America, and the American Geriatrics Society. He has published over 200 articles, more than fifty book chapters, and a dozen books.