About Us
Carl M. Cohen, Ph.D.
President, Science Management Associates
Dr. Carl M. Cohen is an experienced executive with over 30 years of strategic and operational expertise in the biotechnology industry and in biomedical research and administration. He has proven skills in building consensus among diverse stake-holders and in identifying and resolving organizational roadblocks to success.
Dr. Cohen is a thought leader in the field of management and leadership training for scientists and technical professionals. His work has been the subject of feature articles in both Science and Nature - click here to see the most recent articles (pdf download).
Suzanne L. Cohen, Ed.D.
Associate, Science Management Associates
Dr. Suzanne L. Cohen is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP), Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (FAGPA) and Licensed Practitioner in The Nia Technique. Suzanne has over 30 years of experience providing individual, couples and group therapy in her private practice.
Our Clients
Partial list of SMA clients:
*An asterisk denotes organizations with which we have had repeat or multi-year engagements.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals*
Ascidian Therapeutics*
Bavarian-Nordic LLC*
Boston Veterans Administration Health Care System
Boston Biomedical Innovation Center*
CIFAR, Canadian institute for Advanced Research*
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory*
Columbia University
Cubist Pharmaceuticals
Dartmouth College School of Engineering
Flagship Pioneering Ventures*
Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY*
Fosyth Institute
Harvard University*
Harvard Medical School
Howard Hughes Medical Institute- Janelia Farm*
Idera Pharmaceuticals*
The Jackson Laboratory*
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL
Merck Pharmaceuticals
Moderna Pharmaceuticals*
NASA*
National Institutes of Health Training Center*
National Cancer Institute
National Institute on Aging*
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Environmental Health Science
New York Genome Center*
U.S. Naval Institute for Biomolecular Research
NGM BioPharmaceuticals*
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Parkinson’s Foundation
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals*
Rockefeller University*
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
TCR2 Pharmaceuticals*
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of California at San Francisco*
University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor
University of Texas, Austin, Applied Research Laboratory*
U.S. Dept. of Energy (Sunshot Initiative)*
U.S. Naval Institute for Biomedical Research
Van Andel Research Institute*
Vanderbilt University*
Vertex Pharmaceuticals*
Washington University, St Louis
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (pre-Pfizer acquisition)
Yale University*
Our recent workshops
For a list of recent workshops run by Science Management Associates, Click here.
our latest publications
"Lab Dynamics: Management and Leadership Skills for Scientists" Third edition, 2018, by Carl M Cohen and Suzanne L Cohen.
The completely revised and expanded third edition of the premier guide to management and leadership skills for scientists.
From the back cover of “Lab Dynamics: Management and Leadership Skills for Scientists” Third Edition (2018)
This is the third and completely revised edition of a now classic handbook that focuses specifically on management challenges faced by research scientists and technical professionals. In Lab Dynamics, Carl and Suzanne Cohen draw on their unparalleled professional experience (Carl as a scientist and Suzanne as a psychologist) and as workshop directors to provide invaluable, practical advice on how to succeed in science for working scientists and those in or preparing for management or leadership roles. The book is also required reading for anyone with an administrative role in the research enterprise who must understand that world and its complexities.
At its core, the book is about human interactions in science and how they can be made most effective and productive. The authors explain, without jargon or preaching, how to apply self-awareness and interpersonal skills to problems that science professionals encounter every day.
For this third edition, two new chapters have been added. The new Chapter 4, on hiring scientists, provides a data-driven approach along with step-by-step guidance and editable and downloadable forms for use in evaluating and ranking applicants. The new Chapter 6 gives a guide to keeping scientists focused and motivated through appropriate feedback. Scientists at all levels want and need to hear how they’re doing from mentors, managers or leaders.
All other chapters have additional sections, many based on case studies and examples shared with the authors by working scientists. They include “Ten essential characteristics of scientific team leaders” with specific examples of each behavior and its impact.
Government organizations, academic institutions and funders are increasingly focused on the management of science and the improvement of the scientific enterprise. With this update, Lab Dynamics is a resource like no other for those who lead and strive to succeed in a scientific setting.
other Publications
Lab Dynamics: Negotiating Science
Science Next Wave (August 11, 2006)
Lab dynamics: Doing Everyone Else's Job
Science Next Wave (November 11, 2005)
Lab Dynamics: Science at the Balcony
Science Next Wave (September 2, 2005)
It IS Rocket Science: Managing in Science and Technology
Featured Online Perspective at the Science Advisory Board
Confronting the Social Context of Science
Newsletter of the American Society for Cell Biology, January 2004
A Path to Improved Pharmaceutical Productivity
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2003
Biogeneric Drugs: Ready or Not Here They Come
Chemistry Today, Oct/Nov 2003
Reviews of and commentaries on our workshops
Read here about the impact that Dr. Cohen's 2012 "Leadership in Bioscience" workshop at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory had on one participant ("Scientists must be taught to manage," Nature 483:511).
This article describes the impact that the "Leadership in Bioscience" workshop had on a 2011 participant ("Training: Workshops that work," Nature 488:419-420).
In addition, see this article for a perspective written by alums of the 2013 "Leadership.." workshop ("Education: Scientists need leadership training," Nature 506:159), and this article for alumni perspectives from both the "Leadership .." 2012 and 2015 workshops ("Supervision: Clear direction," Nature 527:125-126).
Finally, see this article ("Learning to lead a lab" Science Careers, Feb. 21, 2014) for general information about leadership training for scientists, featuring comments by Dr. Cohen.