Nathan Tyler Cohen, MD

Nathan T. Cohen, MD, is a physician-scientist, epileptologist and neurologist at Children’s National Hospital. He is also an assistant professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr. Cohen earned a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from Brown University, where he was elected to The Scientific Research Honor Society, Sigma Xi. He obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Dr. Cohen completed all his postgraduate medical training at Children’s National, including an internship and residency in general pediatrics, and fellowships in child neurology and epilepsy. He also spent a year as a pediatrician in the Children’s National Emergency Department. He is board-certified in epilepsy and neurology with a special qualification in child neurology.

Dr. Cohen leads the internationally recognized Focal Cortical Dysplasia (FCD) Research Program at Children’s National. His team focuses on developing advanced imaging and brain‑monitoring techniques to better understand how epilepsy begins and how it affects brain networks. His groundbreaking, collaborative work has helped change how doctors diagnose and treat focal epilepsy and has offered new insight into how the condition and its related symptoms develop.

Dr. Cohen also serves as the site lead for the Multi-centre Epilepsy Lesion Detection (MELD) Project — an international effort dedicated to creating better tools for identifying hard‑to‑detect brain lesions in children with drug‑resistant epilepsy.

He has published in many top-tier journals, including Annals of Neurology, Neurology, JAMA Neurology, Brain and Epilepsia, among others. His current research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) K23 Career Development Award. Prior competitive research support includes the American Academy of Neurology Career Development Award, the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation (PERF)/Child Neurology Foundation (CNF) Shields Research Grant and the Children’s National Research Institute Chief Research Officer Award.

Dr. Cohen’s work has received numerous awards, including the 2020 John M. Pellock Award for the top pediatric research abstract at the international American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, the 2023 George Washington University School of Medicine Early Career Clinical Scientist Research Award and platform presentations at many conferences.

He is actively involved in the American Epilepsy Society, where he serves as an invited member of the Research and Training Council, which provides overarching direction for research efforts of the world’s largest epilepsy organization. He has served previously on the Investigators Workshop Committee, Scientific Program Committee, Pediatric Content Committee and Early Career Membership Committee. He is an invited member of the Medical Advisory Board of Hope for Hypothalamic Hamartomas, the largest international, family-run nonprofit organization dedicated to this rare brain lesion. Dr. Cohen serves on the editorial board of Neurology: Clinical Practice.

Dr. Cohen specializes in caring for children with hard‑to‑treat (refractory) epilepsy. He has a particular focus on epilepsy surgery and works closely with families to determine when surgery may be helpful.

His research centers on improving the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, especially through advanced brain‑imaging techniques and the study of conditions like focal cortical dysplasia. He is also involved in research on seizure medications and on understanding and treating severe, prolonged seizures known as status epilepticus.

• Comprehensive Pediatric Epilepsy Program
• Neurology
• Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine Center