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Dr. Cohen’s studies on bacterial plasmid-based antibiotic resistance led to the invention, (together with Dr. Herbert Boyer), of recombinant DNA methodology in 1972. This seminal discovery was the cornerstone in the birth of "genetic engineering" and was the foundation for the creation of industrial biotechnology. Today, he continues to study mechanisms that lead to the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and the evolution and dissemination of microbial drug resistance, as well as to work at elucidating the signals that govern RNA decay in bacteria and growth control in mammalian cells. Dr. Cohen’s honors and awards include the National Medal of Science, the National Medal of Technology, the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, and the Albany Prize in Biomedical Sciences. | 