Gary A. Cohen, JD, MPH
For the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years, Gary Cohen was the Joe and Vi Jacobs Visiting Professor of Biotechnology Law and Ethics at the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences, where his teaching duties include biotechnology business law and regulation; biotechnology intellectual property and licensing; an introductory course on bioethics and business ethics; and an advanced course on bioindustry ethics.
Professor Cohen was recognized by KGI students with a "Choice Award for Outstanding Teaching" in 2007 and 2008.
In April 2007, Cohen hosted a distinguished group of academic, industry and media leaders at KGI, to discuss “The Biopharmaceutical Industry and Human Rights.”
Gary Cohen has more than 20 years of law and ethics experience, including legal representation of industry-leading biotechnology companies. His most recent industry position was vice president, ethics and corporate responsibility, at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for coordinating both in-house and external programs in bioethics, business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Earlier in his career at Millennium, Professor Cohen was Vice President and Associate General Counsel; in this role, he organized the company's business law group and helped manage the Legal Department during a period of unprecedented corporate growth and ambitious, record-setting transactions. Prior to joining Millennium, Professor Cohen was vice president and general counsel at Genzyme Transgenics (now GTC Biotherapeutics); and for many years, he served as as senior counsel at Genetics Institute, Inc. Professor Cohen also practiced law with Palmer and Dodge in Boston, and served as a foreign legal advisor with Yuasa and Hara in Tokyo.
Professor Cohen is frequently invited to speak on business and bioethics topics to, and serve on working groups with, national and international organizations, including BIO; PhRMA; The Hastings Center; Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research; American Society for Bioethics and Humanities; Fordham University Center for Ethics Education; American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics; Harvard Business School; Harvard Law School; Boston Bar Association; Albany Medical College/Graduate College of Union University; the Academy of Management; and Time Magazine’s “Future of Life” conference. Before joining the Keck Graduate Institute, Professor Cohen co-taught Professor Charlie Nesson's 2006 Harvard Law School class on Biotechnology: Academic, Government & Industry Interactions and Tensions.
His professional writings include the case study, The Value of Acedia: Ethics and Industry Decision-making (used as a model case study by the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business); and with co-authors, “Intellectual Property: Commercial Aspects of Pharmacogenomics,” in Pharmacogenomics: Social, Ethical, and Clinical Dimensions, Mark A. Rothstein, ed., New Jersey: Wiley-Liss (2003).
Cohen received his BA from Washington University in St. Louis; studied at the Beijing Language Institute; and received a law degree at Columbia University, and an MPH degree, with a concentration in health law, bioethics and human rights, from the Boston University School of Public Health.
