Myron Cohen

Director, Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases/HIV Prevention Trials Network

Dr. Myron “Mike” Cohen directs the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and serves as associate vice chancellor for global health and medical affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An infectious disease specialist, he is widely known for his work on transmission and prevention of HIV. He is the architect and principal investigator of the multinational HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 study which demonstrated that antiretroviral treatment prevents the sexual transmission of HIV-1. The journal Science recognized this work as the “Breakthrough of the Year” in 2011.

Cohen has built a long career at the University of North Carolina. His work has involved clinical research, global research, and use of the tools of epidemiology, virology and pharmacology. Dr. Cohen helped to develop laboratory methods to measure HIV in genital secretions, as well as methods to determine the best antiviral agents to reduce replication of HIV in these compartments. He is Co-Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health’s HIV Prevention Trials Network, or HPTN, currently in the middle of several large clinical trials, and a multi-national trial studying a new antibody to prevent HIV infection.

Most recently, Cohen has played an active role in development of COVID-19 prevention activities.  He serves on the NIH ACTIV Committee, a public-private partnership to organize COVID-19 research.  As an executive committee member of the newly formed NIAID COVID Prevention Network (CoVPN), he is leading research on the use of monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and early treatment of COVID-19.

Session

• SYNCing to End the Epidemics Through Science