Jon Cohen

Jon Cohen's picture

Jon Cohen is a widely published magazine writer and author of four nonfiction books on scientific topics. He is a senior correspondent with Science, and also has written for The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, BuzzFeed, Smithsonian, Technology Review, Outside, Slate, Surfer, and many other publications. His television appearances include PBS NewsHour, Today, and the Larry King Show, and he also has been on several NPR and BBC radio shows. He specializes in biomedicine, and is widely known for his coverage of epidemics (HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, Ebola, influenza), immunology, vaccines, and global health. He also has reported extensively on genetics, primate research, evolution, bioterrorism, research funding, ethics, reproductive biology, credit battles, and the media itself.

Cohen’s books have covered a wide range of topics for a lay audience, including the search for an AIDS vaccine, the science of miscarriage, the scientific differences between humans and chimpanzees, and a critical analysis of Tijuana, Mexico’s faltering response to its HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Cohen has coordinated and appeared in two, multi-part series on PBS NewsHour that focused on efforts to end the AIDS epidemic and won an Emmy for this work. His print stories have received awards from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Science Writers, the American Society for Microbiology, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Treatment Action Group, the Pan American Health Organization, the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, and the National Institute of Healthcare Management.

Cohen earned a B.A. in science writing from the University of California, San Diego (1981). He lives in Cardiff, California.

Last updated: 
Thursday, October 29, 2020