Neal J. Cohen PhD

Neal J. Cohen received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego. He was a postdoctoral researcher and then research scientist at MIT, and a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University before joining the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1990. He is now a professor in the Department of Psychology, the Neuroscience Program, and the Beckman Institute. He directs the Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory (CNLM); and the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Initiative (IHSI). Cohen’s research involves interdisciplinary studies of human learning and memory, and has been instrumental in the discovery and characterization of the brain's multiple memory systems. His work has emphasized the development of new approaches and multiple methodologies for assessing different aspects of memory in various populations, both in association with brain disorders and in response to specific interventions. In 2012, Cohen was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which recognized his “pioneering research on memory and amnesia, distinguishing brain systems and psychological characteristics that distinguish declarative and procedural memory.