Myron Cohen

Myron Cohen, MD serves as Yeargan-Bate Eminent Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with primary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. He concurrently directs the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID), serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Health, and has led the UNC Division of Infectious Diseases since 1988 while acting as associate director of the UNC Center for AIDS Research.

His educational foundation includes a BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois (1971), MD from Rush Medical College (1974), Internal Medicine training at the University of Michigan (1975-1977), and Infectious Disease fellowship at Yale University (1980). Dr. Cohen's research revolutionized HIV prevention through seminal work on transmission biology, demonstrating how sexually transmitted infections amplify HIV spread and establishing that early antiretroviral therapy reduces sexual transmission by 96.4% in the HPTN 052 trial. His laboratory developed critical methods for measuring HIV in genital secretions and characterizing drug pharmacology across anatomical compartments, explaining differential efficacy of prevention strategies between genders.

Recent publications (2015) reveal his continued leadership in optimizing HIV prevention through adherence studies in serodiscordant couples, founder virus analysis, early infection detection algorithms, and gender-specific pharmacokinetic modeling. Collectively, these works advance treatment-as-prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation globally.

His exceptional contributions are recognized by numerous honors:

• North Carolina Award for Science (2013)
• Joseph E. Smadel Lectureship Award (2013)
• O. Max Gardner Award (2008)
• Science Magazine Breakthrough of the Year (2011)
• National Academy of Medicine membership

As principal investigator of major NIH-funded trials and director of IGHID, Dr. Cohen secures substantial research funding while mentoring the next generation of global health scientists. His leadership spans the HIV Prevention Trials Network, UNC Center for AIDS Research, and institutional initiatives like the $3M emerging pathogen preparedness program. Through the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, he coordinates worldwide research hubs and training programs that address infectious disease threats across 50+ countries.