Adam Cohen is the John P. Reardon, Jr. Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and of Physics in Harvard University's Department of Physics. Holding undergraduate degrees from Harvard, he earned Ph.D.s in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge and in experimental biophysics from Stanford University, followed by postdoctoral work at Stanford with W. E. Moerner. Since joining Harvard as an assistant professor in 2007, Cohen has advanced to full professor and holds appointments as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Principal Faculty at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and affiliate in the Center for Brain Science. He founded Q-State Biosciences to develop diagnostics and therapies for neuropsychiatric diseases using optical imaging and stem cell technology.

Cohen's research at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology develops physical tools to probe molecules and cells under warm, wet conditions, spanning quantum mechanics to neural circuits. His lab pioneered fluorescent voltage-indicating proteins derived from microbial rhodopsins, enabling all-optical electrophysiology; landmark papers include 'All-optical electrophysiology in mammalian neurons using engineered microbial rhodopsins' (Hochbaum et al., Nature Methods, 2014), 'Optical recording of action potentials in mammalian neurons using a microbial rhodopsin' (Kralj et al., Nature Methods, 2012), and 'Electrical spiking in Escherichia coli probed with a fluorescent voltage-indicating protein' (Kralj et al., Science, 2011). Other innovations encompass the discovery of optical chirality ('Optical chirality and its interaction with matter,' Tang & Cohen, Physical Review Letters, 2010; 'Enhanced enantioselectivity in excitation of chiral molecules by superchiral light,' Tang & Cohen, Science, 2011), the Anti-Brownian Electrokinetic (ABEL) trap for single-molecule trapping, and studies of quantum coherence in magnetosensitive reactions and cell membrane mechanics. Cohen's tools have transformed neural circuit mapping and bioelectrical signaling research. His honors include the Blavatnik National Award in Chemistry, American Chemical Society Pure Chemistry Award, NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, MIT Technology Review TR35, and Popular Science Brilliant Ten.

Professional Email: cohen@chemistry.harvard.edu