Jacques Cohen (born December 26, 1951) is a Dutch

embryologist Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

based in New York, U.S. He is currently Director at Reprogenetics LLC, Laboratory Director at ART Institute of Washington at

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...

(a joint fertility program with NIH), and Scientific Director of R & D at IVF-online. While working with

Robert G. Edwards Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards (27 September 1925 – 10 April 2013) was a British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in particular. Along with obstetrician and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe ...

, he reported the freezing and successfully thawing of a human

blastocyst The blastocyst is a structure formed in the early embryonic development of mammals. It possesses an inner cell mass (ICM) also known as the ''embryoblast'' which subsequently forms the embryo, and an outer layer of trophoblast cells called the t ...

for in vitro fertilization as the Senior Embryologist at Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridge. At the same clinic, he developed methods to treat male factor infertility using

in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...

(IVF). He also co-cultured human embryos with helper cells to promote growth. Cohen is known for the application of micromanipulation techniques to operate on eggs, sperm and embryos.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI ) is an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in which a single sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of an egg. This technique is used in order to prepare the gametes for the obtention of emb ...

(ICSI) and Assisted Hatching are now routinely used worldwide to aid in helping couples achieve pregnancy. He is the Senior Editor at Reproductive Biomedicine Online. He has also held faculty positions at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Cornell University Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with New ...

, and the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Early Career and education

Cohen was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 1970, he went to the

State University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of L ...

, where he received a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

and subsequently an MSc degree in

Reproductive physiology Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) is a surgical subspecialty of obstetrics and gynecology that trains physicians in reproductive medicine addressing hormonal functioning as it pertains to reproduction as well as the issue of in ...

in 1978. Next, he attended the

Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...

, where he obtained a PhD degree in

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in 1982, for his thesis named "Interaction between human spermatozoa and hamster oocytes".

Embryology

In 1982, Cohen joined Bourn Hall Clinic as an embryologist, working with

Patrick Steptoe Patrick Christopher Steptoe CBE FRS (9 June 1913 – 21 March 1988) was an English obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards and the nurse Jean ...

and

on techniques geared towards improving human conception through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Robert G. Edwards was the recipient of the Nobel prize for Medicine and Physiology in 2010. It was in Cambridge that Cohen first successfully froze and thawed a human blastocyst for use in IVF. Cohen also pioneered the use of micromanipulation techniques that are now widespread among embryologists. He developed a precursor technique of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), which is now used for treatment of nearly all male factor infertility diagnoses. Assisted Hatching (AH) is another commonly applied technique aimed at increasing implantation rates among infertile couples. Some of his work, such as cytoplasmic transfer, an attempt to boost development using the cytoplasm of donor eggs to supplement eggs from certain infertility patients, and single sperm freezing, has caused considerable ethical debate.

References

External links

ReprogeneticsART Institute of WashingtonAlthea - IVF Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Jacques 1951 births Living people Scientists from The Hague Dutch medical researchers Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Cornell University faculty