Cohen Lab on Aging, Systems and Statistics
Principal Investigator
We are interested in the application of advanced analytical and statistical methods to problems related to population health and to fundamental biological questions, particularly related to the aging process.
Research interests
The core lab interest is in using an understanding of complex systems dynamics in physiological regulation to generate simple, valid ways to measure and understand physiological state and its changes with age. These findings are also integrated into an evolutionary framework of how physiology – and with it the aging process – evolves in response to selection and constraints. From an applied perspective, we are developing metrics of many aspects of physiological state that are more precise than can be obtained from single biomarkers. Long-term, this has the potential to upend the way medical professionals use blood tests to guide treatment, and may also provide useful measures of health state in fields as diverse as ecology, economics, demography, and clinical trials.