Dr. Eric Cohen

As Director of the Human Retrovirology Research Unit and of the Immunity and Viral Infections Research Division at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), Cohen was one of the first Canadian scientists to study HIV. His postdoctoral work identified two viral proteins which play a key role in the spreading and multiplication of the virus: Vpu and Vpr.

Born in Morocco, Cohen holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Université de Montréal. He pursued his postdoctoral studies at the renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

Before joining the IRCM, he ran a lab specializing in the molecular biology of HIV within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Université de Montréal, where he is currently a Full Professor. Cohen is also Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Experimental Medicine) at McGill University. He has earned the title of Canada Research Chair in Human Retrovirology.

In 2007, Cohen and his team published the results of a breakthrough, opening the door to a new category of HIV medication. The study appeared in PLOS Pathogens, a prestigious online American scientific journal which is edited by the Public Library of Science. The team uncovered a cellular protein complex targeted by the HIV-1 Pvr protein, capable of halting the division of cells infected by the HIV virus.

In 2012, Cohen received the Marcel-Piché Prize, one of the highest honours awarded in the field of scientific research in Quebec and Canada.

Cohen is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.