Flossie Cohen (1925–2004) was an Indian-bornpediatricimmunologist who spent most of her career at theChildren's Hospital of Michigan. She was also a professor at theWayne State University School of Medicine.
Cohen was born in 1925 inKolkata, India. She later migrated to the United States and studied medicine at theUniversity of Buffalo, graduating in 1950. She completed her residency inpediatrics at theBrooklyn Jewish Hospital, and moved toMichigan in 1953 to join theChildren's Hospital of Michigan. There, she began research in the field of pediatric andneonatalimmunology. She set up the hospital'sclinical immunology laboratory and its service for clinical immunology andrheumatology; she directed both departments until her retirement in 1992.[1] She was also a professor at theWayne State University School of Medicine.[2]
In 1972, Cohen was the co-author of a landmark study that was the first to demonstrate a biochemical basis forsevere combined immunodeficiency. She continued to studyimmunodeficiency disorders, and with the outbreak of theHIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, she started an HIV clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan in 1985. She was also involved in clinical trials forperinatal transmission of HIV.[2]
In 1975, Cohen became the first person in Michigan to successfully perform abone marrow transplant in a child. She was also the first person tofluorescered blood cells. She was inducted into theMichigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1994 for her achievements in medicine and science, and died in 2004.[2]