Avis Cohen

Diseases of the Nervous System

My research focuses on systems: neural and genomic. I typically use computational and integrational methods to understand the relationship between the parts of the system. My neural systems research is a collaborative effort to put the lamprey back together again - that is, to use mathematical, physiological, behavioral, and biomechanical studies to understand how neural output is integrated with the properties and forces of the muscle, body and water to generate realistic swimming movement. In genomics, my focus is currently immune proteins of the sea urchin.

• Vogelstein, Etienne-Cummings, R.J, Thakor, N.V. and Cohen, A.H. (2006) Phase Dependent Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Locomotor Activity, IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 14:257-65.
• Hibino, T., Loza-Coll, M., Messier, C., Majeske, A.J., Cohen, A.H., David P. Terwilliger, D.P., Buckley, K.M., Brockton, V., Nair, S.V. Berney, K., Fugmannf, S.D., Anderson, M.K., Pancer, Z., Cameron, R. A., Smith, L.C., Rast,J.P. (2006) The immune gene repertoire encoded in the purple sea urchin genome. Developmental Biology 300:349.
• R. J. Vogelstein, F. Tenore, R. Etienne-Cummings, M. A. Lewis, A. H. Cohen (2006) Dynamic control of the central pattern generator for locomotion, Biol. Cyber. 95:555-566.
• H. Kimura, Y. Fukuoka and A. H. Cohen, (2006) Adaptive Dynamic Walking of a Quadruped Robot on Natural Ground Based on Biological Concepts, Int. J. of Robotics Research, 26:475-490.
• S. Gelman, A. Ayali, E. D. Tytell, A. H. Cohen (2007) Larval lampreys possess a functional lateral line system. J. Comp. Physiol. A.193(2): 271-7.
• H. Kimura, Y. Fukuoka and A. H. Cohen (2007) Biologically Inspired Adaptive Walking of a Quadruped Robot, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, Vol.365, No.1850, pp.153-170.
• P.Varkonyi1, T. Kiemel, K. Hoffman, A. H. Cohen and P. Holmes, On the derivation and tuning of phase oscillator models for lamprey central pattern generators. (2008) J. computational Neurosci. 25(2):245-261.
• Gelman S., Ayali A. Kiemel T., and Cohen A. H. Metamorphosis-related changes in the lateral line system of lampreys, Petromyzon marinus. (2008). J. Comp Physiol A Nov;194(11):945-56
• S. Gelman, A.H. Cohen, E. Sanovich,. (2009) Developmental changes in the ultrastructure of the lamprey lateral line nerve during metamorphosis. J. Morph. 270(7):815-824
• Ayali A., Gelman S., Tytell E. D. and Cohen A. H. The role of the lamprey lateral line system in close-loop control of swimming. Can.J.Zool. in press.

Ph.D., Cornell University, 1977. Motor physiology and control; neuromorphic engineering; computational neuroscience with an emphasis on systems of coupled oscillators.