Current Environment: Development

Dev

Alexander Cohen | Education

Medical School

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

2011, St. Louis, MO

Internship

Mayo Clinic

2012, Rochester, MN

Residency

Mayo Clinic

2016, Rochester, NY

Fellowship

Boston Children's Hospital

2018, Boston, MA

Alexander Cohen | Certifications

  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Child and Adolescent Neurology)

Alexander Cohen | Professional History

I am a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. I received my B.A. in Biology and Biomedical Physics and my M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis where I focused on neuroimaging research that formed the basis for the Human Connectome Project. I then completed residency training in pediatrics and child neurology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and a clinical fellowship in pediatric behavioral neurology followed by a T32 postdoc fellowship translational research in neurodevelopmental disorders here at Boston Children’s Hospital.

My current research focuses on identifying which brain circuits are involved in specific symptoms seen in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders using network neuroimaging techniques and coming up with ways to modulate these brain circuits with non-invasive neuromodulation such as TMS and real-time fMRI neurofeedback. My work has been supported by the Child Neurology Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.

I also care for patients in the Autism Spectrum Center and Behavioral Neurology Clinic as part of the new multidisciplinary Brain, Mind, and Behavior Center at Two Brookline Place.

Alexander Cohen | Publications

I have always been fascinated by the mystery of how the intricately woven connections of the brain develop in every child and make each of us 'who we are' and how tiny changes can result in dramatic differences.

As a physician-scientist, my goal is to use knowledge we discover in the laboratory to inform clinical practice as well as translate discoveries into practical ways to improve the lives of children and families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders.