Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D.

Dr. Cohen received his Ph.D. from the University of Cape Town in 1989 then did postdoctoral studies at UT Southwestern where he has remained ever since.  His research focuses on the genetic basis of metabolic disorders that contribute common diseases such as heart disease and fatty liver disease. Together with his scientific partner, Dr. Helen Hobbs, he has identified genes that play major roles in the metabolism of fats, cholesterol, and triglycerides, and elucidated the biological roles of their protein products. His laboratory showed that loss-of-function mutations in PCSK9 are associated with low plasma levels of cholesterol and confer protection from coronary heart disease.  In addition, the Hobbs-Cohen laboratory identified the first genetic cause of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in humans. 

Undergraduate

Unlisted - International Colle , Physiology

Graduate School

Unlisted - International Colle (1988)

• Genetic determinants of plasma lipoprotein levels.
• Genetics of quantitative traits.

Featured Publications

Exome-wide association study identifies a TM6SF2 variant that confers susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Kozlitina J, Smagris E, Stender S, Nordestgaard BG, Zhou HH, Tybjærg-Hansen A, Vogt TF, Hobbs HH, Cohen JC Nat. Genet. 2014 Feb

Human fatty liver disease: old questions and new insights.

Cohen JC, Horton JD, Hobbs HH Science 2011 Jun 332 6037 1519-23

Genetic variation in PNPLA3 confers susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Romeo S, Kozlitina J, Xing C, Pertsemlidis A, Cox D, Pennacchio LA, Boerwinkle E, Cohen JC, Hobbs HH Nat. Genet. 2008 Dec 40 12 1461-5

Sequence variations in PCSK9, low LDL, and protection against coronary heart disease.

Cohen JC, Boerwinkle E, Mosley TH, Hobbs HH N. Engl. J. Med. 2006 Mar 354 12 1264-72

• Medical Research Council Institute Scholarship
  (1986-1989) (0)