Jeremiah Cohen

Jeremiah Cohen is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a Principal Scientist at the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics in Seattle. He leads the Cohen Lab, which is affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience and the Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins, focusing on the neural circuits underlying reward, mood, and decision-making.

His research lies at the intersection of systems, cognitive, and computational neuroscience, with a strong emphasis on neuromodulatory systems involving serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. The lab investigates how these neurons—despite their small numbers—exert widespread influence over brain function and behavior. Using cell-type-specific tools, electrophysiology, imaging, and computational models in mice, the lab aims to uncover how monoaminergic circuits process rewards, punishments, and uncertainty to guide behavior.

The 15 most recent publications reveal a consistent focus on reward and punishment processing, decision-making under uncertainty, neural coding of prediction errors, and the functional roles of serotonin and dopamine across multiple timescales. The work spans molecular, circuit, and systems levels, combining rigorous behavioral paradigms with advanced neural recording and modeling techniques. Key themes include neuromodulation, neural stability, and the transformation of sensory signals into motivated behavior.

Scientific awards and grants supporting the lab include:

• Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award
• NARSAD Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
• Whitehall Foundation Grant
• MQ Fellows Programme Grant
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Grant
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Grant as part of the Brain Initiative

Dr. Cohen actively mentors a team of postdoctoral fellows and neuroscience graduate students, many of whom have gone on to prestigious positions in academia, medicine, and data science. The lab collaborates widely and has received continuous funding from federal and private sources, reflecting the significance and innovation of its research. The Cohen Lab is equipped to perform cutting-edge experiments in neural circuit function, including in vivo electrophysiology, behavioral analysis, and computational modeling.