I. Glenn Cohen

I. Glenn Cohen
Name	I. Glenn Cohen
Birth date	1978
Occupation	Legal scholar, bioethicist, professor
Alma mater	Harvard College, Yale Law School, Harvard Law School (LLM)
Institutions	Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, Center for Law and Biosciences

I. Glenn Cohen is a Canadian-American legal scholar specializing in health law, bioethics, and biotechnology regulation. He holds a professorship at Harvard Law School and an affiliation with Harvard Medical School, and is known for interdisciplinary work bridging law, medicine, and public policy. His research addresses assisted reproductive technologies, stem cell research, pandemic response, and the legal implications of emerging biomedical innovations.

Early life and education

Born in Canada, Cohen completed undergraduate studies at Harvard College and earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. He pursued graduate study with an LLM at Harvard Law School and undertook clinical and research training that connected him to Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Harvard School of Public Health. During his training he engaged with faculty affiliated with Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Chicago medical and legal programs.

Academic career and positions

Cohen is a professor at Harvard Law School and holds a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School where he contributes to the Center for Bioethics and the Center for Law and Biosciences. He previously taught or collaborated with scholars at Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, Columbia Law School, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, and the University of Oxford. He has been a visiting scholar at institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Brookings Institution, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He serves on editorial boards for journals connected to New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and legal reviews at Harvard and Yale.

Research and scholarship

Cohen's scholarship spans assisted reproductive technologies, mitochondrial replacement, and cross-border reproductive care, engaging with debates in United States and United Kingdom law, as well as comparative analyses involving Canada, Australia, and Israel. He has written on stem cell policy in the context of regulations from the Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the National Health Service. His work addresses ethical and legal issues in human challenge trials linked to guidance from the World Health Organization, pandemic policy discussions involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health policy frameworks. He analyzes intellectual property disputes touching United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and patent policy raised by Biogen, Novartis, and academic spinouts. Cohen has explored privacy and data governance in biomedical research with reference to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, large-scale projects like the Human Genome Project, and initiatives sponsored by Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Publications and books

Cohen has authored books and numerous articles in outlets including New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Nature, Science, Harvard Law Review, and Yale Law Journal. His books examine assisted reproduction, bioethics, and law, engaging cases and materials from Supreme Court of the United States jurisprudence, House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearings, and international instruments like the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. His publications analyze policy responses involving the Obama administration, Trump administration, and advisory panels such as the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. He has contributed chapters for volumes published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Harvard University Press.

Awards and honors

Cohen's honors include fellowships and awards from entities such as the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation (competitions), and grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. He has received recognition from legal and bioethics organizations including the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, the Association of American Law Schools, and the American Journal of Bioethics. He has been a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford and awarded distinguished lecturer roles by Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and the University of Toronto.

Public engagement and policy influence

Cohen regularly provides commentary for media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Economist, BBC, and CNN, and has testified before legislative bodies including the United States Congress and advisory committees to the National Institutes of Health. He has participated in policy fora at the World Health Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the European Commission. Cohen has advised startups and incumbents in biotechnology and fertility sectors, interfacing with companies like 23andMe, Caribou Biosciences, and hospital systems including Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, and he serves on boards and committees that shape regulation and best practices in reproductive medicine and biomedical innovation.

Category:Living people Category:Harvard Law School faculty Category:Bioethicists Category:Canadian legal scholars