The Cohen Lab is committed to ensuring that our lab and our community are places where individuals of all color, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation are free to express themselves, to exist in a safe and nurturing environment, and to enjoy all the freedoms, liberties, and opportunities that life has to offer. We condemn the systemic racism that has resulted in the senseless and violent deaths of people such as Breonna Tayler, George Floyd, Aura Rosser, Stephon Clark, Riah Milton, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, Botham Jean, Philando Castille, Freddie Gray, Janisha Fonville, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and so many more. Lives full of promise, cut short by a culture of unrestrained police violence. Collectively, we pledge to fight injustice wherever we see it, to defend those who are unable to defend themselves, and to stand up to those who seek to deny basic human rights to all people. The Cohen Lab values the diversity of thought, scientific interests, philosophy, heritage, experiences, and opinions of everyone who joins or visits our lab. We welcome you with open arms in the name of freedom of scientific enquiry and of opinion, and acceptance/appreciation of our differences and similarities .
Since 2000, the Cohen Lab has studied meiotic recombination and the events of prophase I in mammals, and has been funded by NIH throughout this time. Our studies focus on the class I and class II crossover pathways, and their regulatory control/interactions. For more information, see our research page.
Our studies focus on the DNA mismatch repair pathway, the MUS81-EME1 structure specific nuclease, and the Fanconi Anemia pathway. We study these pathways in the context of meiotic recombination as well as in the context of genome stability in the mammalian germ line. For more information, see our research page.
The Cohen Lab is interested in understanding the unique and complex gene regulatory environment that exists throughout spermatogeneis, as well as the complex role of non-coding RNAs in post-transcriptional regulation of the germ line. For more information, see our research page.
Studies in the lab are focused on identifying novel intervention points during gamete development that could be targets of contraceptive drug targeting. Our goal is to provide cheap, safe, and reliable contraceptive options for men and women. These studies are funded by The Gates Foundation and by The Male Contraceptive Iniative (MCI). For more information, see our research page.
Paula has been selected as a 2026 Falling Walls Global Call finalist in the Life Sciences category for her work developing a new approach to reversible male contraception...
A new study from the Cohen and Grimson Labs, published in PLOS Genetics and led by Mercedes Carro and Alexis Dziubek, uncovers an unexpected nuclear role for Argonaute proteins in controlling the male germline...
A new study from the Cohen Lab, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, challenges a long-standing model for how genetic crossovers are controlled during meiosis. Led by Tegan Horan, with Anna Wood and Stephanie Tanis...
In May 2026, the Cohen lab welcomed BBS student Eliza O'Donnell as a new graduate student. She very shortly thereafter secured a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation...
A new study from the Cohen Lab, published in PNAS, provides important proof-of-principle that meiosis can be safely and reversibly targeted for nonhormonal male contraception. Led by co-first authors Stephanie Tanis and Leah Simon...
The Cohen lab is delighted to welcome Dr. Kristin Murphy as a new leader in our contraceptive development team....