Elizabeth Cohen has set the industry standard on health reporting, reporting on multiple platforms with an unparalleled breadth of expert sources and her trademark empathy for the people most impacted by the public health challenges and medical mysteries of our time.
Elizabeth’s work has been earned her recognition from her peers with numerous awards. She’s received three Gracies: one for her weekly column and video, “The Empowered Patient”; another for her TV and text article “Where’s Molly?” about a man searching for his sister who’d been sent to an institution; and the third for outstanding reporter/correspondent. She has also received awards from the Newswoman’s Club of New York and the National Association of Black Journalists for her story on bone marrow transplants, a National Headliners Award for “A Lesson Before Dying” about a Georgia man’s final days, and an award from Mental Health America for her story on obsessive-compulsive disorder. Elizabeth also contributed to CNN’s Emmys for September 11th and Hurricane Katrina coverage.
Elizabeth’s live on-the-scene reporting has included coverage from New York after September 11th, Haiti after the earthquake, Liberia during the Ebola outbreak, and numerous hurricanes. Her blockbuster stories, all original reporting, include “Escape from Mayo” about a teenager who broke out of the famous medical center, “Heaven Over Hospital” about a terminally ill four year old who chose to die rather than continue care, “The Real Fault in Our Stars Couple,” about two people with cystic fibrosis, and stories about a dying boy who was denied an experimental drug, a girl with “bubble boy disease” who fought for a treatment that had been abandoned by a pharmaceutical company, and laboratory technicians who refused to take blood from people with mpox. Each of these went viral online with millions of downloads and views. Elizabeth has also done hours on plastic surgery, obesity, and patient empowerment. Her weekly online column, “The Empowered Patient”, became a TV series, a documentary, and a bestselling book published by Random House.
Elizabeth has received the outstanding alumna award from both Boston University, where she received her master’s degree in public health, and from Columbia College in New York City, where she received her bachelor’s degree in history. She got her start as a print reporter for States News Service in Washington, DC, and The Albany Times Union in New York. She and her husband, Tal Cohen, are the proud parents of four daughters.
Learn more about the Isadore Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion.