The Administration on Aging celebrates the life of Dr. Gene D. Cohen.  Dr. Cohen, geriatric psychiatrist and health care pioneer, dedicated his career to the field of aging and geriatrics long before the field existed. After graduating from Harvard College and Georgetown University School of Medicine, he began shaping the field of geriatrics through his work at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the early 1970’s as the first chief of the Center on Aging and Director of the Program on Aging.   Dr. Cohen expanded NIMH’s specialty programs in geriatric psychiatry and took interest in minorities—encouraging and supporting research on the mental health of the impoverished and homeless.  He also led the charge to change Medicare to allow for increased reimbursements of mental health services. Dr. Cohen continued his commitment to biological, psychological and social issues in geriatric medicine at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he served as Acting Director.  During his tenure, NIA grew at the greatest rate of all the Institutes at NIH.

Dr. Cohen authored over 150 publications in the field of aging including, The Creative Age: Awakening the Human Potential in the Second Half of Life and The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain. The former effectively launched creativity and aging as a new field within geriatrics.  Dr. Cohen was a founding member of the American Psychiatric Association Council on Aging and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry in addition to being the founding editor of International Psychogeriatrics and the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.  He served as the first director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University where he conducted a landmark longitudinal study proving that engagement in professionally conducted arts programs by older adults led to significant health benefits.

As a blossoming game inventor after age 50, Dr. Cohen showed first hand that creativity and untapped potential are possible for older adults. His most recent game, Making Memories Together, is one that assists families and caregivers of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

Memorial donations can be made to the Gene D. Cohen M.D., Ph.D Research Award at http://www.creativeaging.org/donate/.

Games invented exclusively by Gene's game company, GENCO can be purchased at http://www.genco‐games.com/genco_order‐new.html