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A pioneer in geriatric psychiatry with a polymathic imagination, Gene D. Cohen was born on September 28, 1944 in Brockton, Massachusetts, where his father ran a hardware store. He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in art history in 1966, received a medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1970, and then earned a PhD in Gerontology at the Union Institute in 1981. Cohen began his career with the U.S. Public Health Service out of medical school. From the outset, he set a novel course in his research, becoming one of the first psychiatrists to specialize in the study of the impact of aging on the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. Recognized for administrative process as well as the originality of his scholarship, he was selected as the first chief of the Center on Aging at the National Institute of Mental Health (1975-1988) and went on to leadership positions at the National Institute on Aging at NIH. In 1994, he left government employment to found the Center on Aging, Health, and Humanities at George Washington University.
Cohen was the founding editor of two journals,
The impact of Cohen’s research was felt widely and catalyzed a change in the field from viewing aging as a disease to recognizing the creative potential of the older mind. His demonstration of the health benefits to older people of engagement in the arts made him one of the intellectual architects of the field of Creative Aging. He was the project director for a study, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, which assessed the impact on older people of cultural programs provided by professional artists. Cohen was a dedicated advocate to the concept that the elderly are capable of functioning at high levels of creativity and intellectual thought. When Cohen’s career began, he argued against the medical profession largely treated aging like a disease. With evidence from Cohen’s research, he argued that the brain would continue creating new cells at any age so long as it was engaged in new and challenging intellectual activities.
The author of more than 150 articles and monographs, he earned numerous awards for his work, including the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Public Health Service, the Distinguished Service Medal. Both as a researcher and as a spokesman for research in gerontology — he was often a guest on television news programs and made a series of public service messages with the comedian George Burns — he was instrumental in bringing information about aging to the public. Cohen died of metastatic prostate cancer at the age of 65 in Nov. 2009, leaving his wife, Wendy Miller, two children, and four grandchildren.
Awards
A significant collection for study of the growth of geriatric psychiatry and the field of creative aging, the collection includes materials from throughout Gene Cohen’s pathbreaking career. The collection offers insight into the development of gerontological research particularly during Cohen’s years at the NIMH and NIH. In addition to an extensive set of publications by and about Cohen, the collection includes background materials for Cohen’s books
The collection is open for research.
Gift of Wendy Miller, May 2019.
Processed by Kylee Christensen, November 2019.
Series 1 includes a biographical overview of school records, awards, and photographs of Gene Cohen. It also includes Cohen's resumes and curriculum vitae over the years. The series captures a span of 1952-2009, with the bulk occurring from 1952-1988. Cohen's memorial service is documented in 2009. This series is organized chronologically.
This series includes research and grant documentation of Cohen's longitudinal studies such as Spy Kids, Retirement, and Boomers. Within response data, there is also preliminary data, collaboration with organizations, and both documented conceptualization and operationalization of studies. Institutional Review Board Approval is also outlined for almost every documented study Cohen organized. This series is organized chronologically.
The publications and press series contains outlines of a multitude of talks Gene Cohen gave for many universities and organizations. Additionally, copies of Cohen's published articles are found within this series. News media outlines, including the PBS coverage of Creative Aging, are shown with full written documentation. This series is organized chronologically.
In addition to the written documentation of news media coverage of Gene Cohen’s research, there are CDs, VHS, reel-to-reels, and record copies of such coverage. This series also includes home videos from the science fair and audio files of Cohen’s publications such as
The collection contains 73 books including an almost complete collection of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry with 9 volumes. The series also contains personal copies of Gene Cohen’s published books such as