Byron Cohen is a PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences at Harvard School of Public Health, based in the Department of Global Health & Population, in the Health Systems track. For part of his dissertation research, Byron uses epidemiological models to evaluate potential strategies for early detection and containment of outbreaks of potential pandemic pathogens that may occur as a result of accidental lab-acquired infections in high-biosafety research facilities. For the other part of his dissertation research, Byron is working on an analysis to quantify the health and economic benefits of advances in global tuberculosis control.
In the summer of 2020 Byron worked as a research intern for the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) unit on an evaluation of a UNICEF/DFID clean water, sanitation, and hygiene program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Previously, Byron was part of the research team at HSPH working on Harvard’s India Health Systems Project. He also has experience working on projects to help improve clean water access and water governance in the city of Gulu, Uganda. Byron earned an M.P.H. with First Class Honours from University College Dublin in 2017, where he studied as a Mitchell Scholar. He obtained his B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics from Claremont McKenna College in 2016, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa.