Lawrence Cohen

Lawrence Cohen is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He serves as Director of the Medical Anthropology Program and previously held the Sarah Kailath Chair in India Studies. His research integrates political and medical anthropology, with fieldwork across urban India.

Cohen's work explores diverse themes including aging and dementia, sexuality and queer theory, organ transplantation ethics, Ayurveda, biometric surveillance, and pandemic governance. His current projects examine genealogical platforms in India and global organ trafficking.

Awards recognizing his scholarship include the Victor Turner Prize (1998) and AES First Book Prize (1989) for No Aging in India.

He co-directs the UC Berkeley-UCSF Medical Anthropology Program and collaborates with scholars globally, including Nancy Scheper-Hughes on transplantation ethics.