M. Michael Cohen Jr. (March 28, 1937 – February 11, 2018) was an American pathologist and geneticist who was Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University (Emeritus). He was the first doctor to diagnose

Proteus syndrome Proteus syndrome is a rare disorder with a genetic background that can cause tissue overgrowth involving all three embryonic lineages. Patients with Proteus syndrome tend to have an increased risk of embryonic tumor development.Freedberg, et al. ...

, in 1979.

Life and career

Cohen was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

. His post-graduate training included a fellowship in pathology and medical genetics with Robert Gorlin (1923–2006), an oral

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

and

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

who described a large number of syndromes, including one they delineated together known as Gorlin–Cohen syndrome. Cohen held a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

; he received a Doctor of Dental Surgery and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in oral and maxillofacial pathology; he also held a certificate in international health. After serving as Professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery and pediatrics at the University of Washington in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, he moved to Dalhousie University in Canada. He retired to Emeritus in 2006. Cohen wrote more than 450 articles; was the author, co-author or editor of 11 books, and contributed more than 28 chapters to other books. Cohen died of pneumonia on February 11, 2018, in Nova Scotia. He is buried in the Shaar Shalom Cemetery in Halifax.

References

1937 births 2018 deaths American medical academics Boston University alumni Dalhousie University faculty Jewish American scientists Place of birth missing Tufts University alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Minnesota alumni University of Washington faculty Deaths from pneumonia in the United States 21st-century American Jews Scientists from Boston {{US-med-bio-stub

Life and career

See also

References