Jacques Cohen
Encyclopedia
Jacques Cohen is a Dutch embryologist living in New York, in the U.S. He is currently Director at Reprogenetics
Reprogenetics
Reprogenetics is a term referring to the merging of reproductive and genetic technologies expected to happen in the near future as techniques like germinal choice technology become more available and more powerful. The term was coined by Lee M...

, LLC, Laboratory Director at ART Institute of Washington at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is a tri-service military medical center located on the Bethesda, Maryland, USA campus of the former National Naval Medical Center.-Leadership:Commander:Rear Admiral Alton L. Stocks, MD...

 (a joint fertility program with NIH), and Scientific Director of R & D at IVF-online. He also serves as a project coordinator at Althea.

While working with Robert G. Edwards, he was the first to freeze and successfully thaw a human blastocyst for use with in vitro fertilization as the Senior Embryologist at Bourne Hall Clinic, Cambridge. At the same clinic, he developed methods to treat male factor infertility using in vitro fertilization (IVF). He was also first to co-culture human embryos with helper cells to promote growth.

Dr. Cohen was one of the first to apply micromanipulation techniques to operate on eggs, sperm and embryos. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.-Indications:...

 (ICSI) and Assisted Hatching are now routinely used worldwide to aid in helping couples achieve pregnancy.

He is the Senior Editor at Reproductive Biomedicine Online. He has also held faculty positions at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...

, Cornell University Medical College, and the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...

.

Early Career and Education

Cohen was born in The Hague in The Netherlands. He received his B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, from the State University of Leiden. He went on to receive an M.Sc. in Reproductive Physiology from Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

. In 1981, he was awarded his Ph.D. in Medicine from Erasmus University
Erasmus University
Erasmus University Rotterdam is a university in the Netherlands, located in Rotterdam. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th century humanist and theologian...

 for his thesis, Interaction between human spermatozoa and hamster oocytes.

Embryology

In 1982, Cohen joined Bourn Hall Clinic as an Embryologist, working with Patrick Steptoe
Patrick Steptoe
Patrick Christopher Steptoe FRS was a British obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards for developing in vitro fertilization...

 and Robert G. Edwards on techniques geared towards improving human conception through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Robert G. Edwards was the recipient of the Nobel prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2010. It was in Cambridge that Dr. Cohen first successfully froze and thawed a human blastocyst for use in IVF.

Dr. Cohen also pioneered the use of micromanipulation techniques that are now widespread among embryologists. He developed a precursor technique of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), which is now used for treatment of nearly all male factor infertility diagnoses. Assisted Hatching (AH) is another commonly applied technique aimed at increasing implantation rates among infertile couples. Some of his work, such as cytoplasmic transfer, an attempt to boost development using the cytoplasm of donor eggs to supplement eggs from certain infertility patients, and single sperm freezing, has caused considerable ethical debate.

Dr. Cohen holds nearly a dozen patents for inventions aimed at the treatment of infertility in couples. He has published over 150 peer reviewed papers in the field and is also one of the most respected experts on embryology in the world, as he has always openly published his discoveries so others can use them to improve their patient care.

Honors and Awards

  • 1994 - Resolve Family Building Award. Award by Resolve
    Resolve
    Resolve may refer to:*Resolution *"Resolve" , by the Foo Fighters*Resolve * Resolve *RESOLVE, a dispute resolution-related non-profit group...

     - The National Infertility Association
  • 1998 - The Embryologists Life Award "Significant Achievement Award." Awarded by Serono Laboratories, Inc.
  • 2001 - Resolve
    Resolve
    Resolve may refer to:*Resolution *"Resolve" , by the Foo Fighters*Resolve * Resolve *RESOLVE, a dispute resolution-related non-profit group...

     Family Building Award. New Jersey Chapter.
  • 2003 - Robert G. Edwards Science Award - American Infertility Association (AIA)

External Links

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