Posted on February 27, 2013

NYU Langone Medical Center Receives $17 Million From Cohen Foundation for Veterans' Mental Health Research

NYU Langone Medical Center has announced a $17 million grant from the Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation toward construction of a veterans' mental health research center.

The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury will support biomarker research necessary to improve diagnoses of post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury in veterans. Led by Dr. Charles Marmar, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Psychiatry and chair of NYU Langone's psychiatry department, researchers at NYU Langone will work with leading psychiatrists and neuroscientists at institutions around the country on biomarker identification while continuing their research efforts as part of a long-standing relationship with two Veterans Affairs hospitals in New York City. The Cohen Veterans Center will be one of a few facilities in the country to examine both post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury under one roof.

"The Cohens' investment will turbo-charge research conducted on these conditions, and reflects the Cohens' dedication to helping preserve the mental and physical health of veterans," said Dr. Marmar. "Without objective biological tests, the diagnosis of PTSD and TBI is incredibly difficult to get right. We thank Steven and Alexandra Cohen for their generous gift, which will allow us to accelerate the discovery of biomarkers to identify PTS and TBI, create lab tests for these disorders, and ultimately use this knowledge to develop novel treatments including targeted medications and other therapies."