Pinchas Cohen

Pinchas Cohen, MD, is the Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and holder of the William and Sylvia Kugel Dean’s Chair in Gerontology. He holds joint appointments at the Keck School of Medicine and the Department of Biological Sciences at USC Dornsife College. His research focuses on mitochondrial-derived peptides (MDPs) like humanin, MOTS-c, and SHLP2, which have therapeutic potential for aging-related diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. He leads initiatives in technology and aging, including personalized aging strategies using genomic data.

Education: MD from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (1986), postdoctoral training at Stanford University (1986–1992). Prior roles include professor and vice chair at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and co-director of the UCSD/UCLA Diabetes Research Center.

Research Interests: Unraveling processes in aging, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer through MDPs. Key areas include:

• Humanin: Insulin sensitizer and metaboloprotective factor
• MOTS-c: Exercise-mimetic with anti-diabetes/obesity effects
• SHLP2: Linked to prostate cancer progression

Awards & Honors:

• National Institute of Aging EUREKA Award
• Glenn Award for Biological Mechanisms of Aging
• Fellow of AAAS and Gerontological Society of America

Labs & Teams: Directs the Cohen Lab, studying MDPs’ roles in metabolism, carcinogenesis, and aging. Collaborates on translational research through CohBar, a biotech company developing mitochondrial peptide therapies.