Ron Cohen, M.D. is President, CEO and founder of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., a public biotechnology company developing therapies for spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and other disorders of the central nervous system. Dr. Cohen previously was a principal in the startup of Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the growth of human organ tissues for transplantation uses. Dr. Cohen received his B.A. degree with honors in Psychology from Princeton University, and his M.D. from the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia Medical Center, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Cohen is Chairman Emeritus and a Director of the Board of the New York Biotechnology Association. He also serves as a member of the Health Care Governing Body and the Chair of the Emerging Company Section of the Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), and as a member of the Columbia-Presbyterian Health Sciences Advisory Council. Dr. Cohen is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the New York Metropolitan Region, and an inductee into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association’s “Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame.”