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Jennifer L. Cohen

Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, Medical Genetics

Overview


Jennifer L. Cohen, MD is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Medical Genetics. She attended Yale College and then received her MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in NYC. She completed a combined residency program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, before joining the faculty at Duke in 2019. Her research interests and expertise are in perinatal genetic medicine with a current focus on earlier diagnosis and management of rare genetic diseases. She is the physician lead for Pompe disease newborn screening in North Carolina and is actively involved in gene therapy clinical trials for lysosomal storage diseases. Dr. Cohen leads the Duke site for a clinical trial of prenatal enzyme replacement therapy for lysosomal storage diseases. Her long-time research interests and training have led her to pursue the study of in utero treatment for genetic diseases and to advance implementation of more rapid and comprehensive diagnostic testing in fetuses and critically ill infants.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor of Pediatrics · 2025 - Present Pediatrics, Medical Genetics, Pediatrics
Associate Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology · 2025 - Present Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Basic Science Departments
Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025 - Present Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology

In the News


Published February 7, 2025
Artificial Womb Reduces Risks to Premature Babies
Published November 10, 2022
Duke Experts Participate in First Use of Fetal Therapy for Pompe Disease

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Recent Publications


Prenatal Delivery of Enzyme Replacement Therapy to Fetuses Affected by Early-Onset Lysosomal Storage Diseases.

Journal Article Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet · September 2025 The expansion of prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis warrants the evaluation of approved postnatal therapies that may be safely and feasibly translated to prenatal administration to a fetus affected by monogenic disease. For lysosomal storage diseases ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cell-specific expression biases in human cortex of genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Journal Article Sci Rep · July 2, 2025 Up to one third of congenital brain malformations and neurodevelopmental disorders are attributable to single-gene pathogenic variants, and yet we have little understanding of the cellular pathophysiology in the nervous system that arises from these varian ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Developing strategies to identify candidate individuals for early genetic therapies

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2024 - 2029

Phase 1 Study of In Utero Enzyme Replacement Therapy for the Treatment of Lysosomal Storage Diseases

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - San Francisco · 2022 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · 2015 M.D.