Rate My Professor Martin Cohen

Conjoint Associate Professor Martin Cohen serves in the School of Medicine and Public Health within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, where he has held his position since 2014. He obtained his MBBS from the University of Sydney in 1996, became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 2002, and earned his PhD from the University of Newcastle in 2015. His doctoral research examined functional and structural brain imaging correlates of cannabis use in young people with schizophrenia.

Cohen has built an extensive career in psychiatry and mental health leadership. From 2004 to 2011, he was Director of Specialist Training for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He subsequently served as Executive Director of the Hunter New England Local Health District from 2011 to 2015. In addition to his academic role, he directed the Hunter Medical Research Institute from 2015 to 2021, acted as Clinical Lead for Procare Mental Health Services since 2016, held the position of Deputy Commissioner at the Mental Health Commission of New South Wales from 2016 to 2021, and currently chairs the Board of the Hunter New England Local Health District since 2021. His research focuses on schizophrenia, psychiatry, mental illness, psychopathology, psychopharmacology, clinical psychiatry, biological psychiatry, comorbidity, psychotherapeutic processes, and treatment. Notable publications include 'Severity of illness and adaptive functioning predict quality of care of children among parents with psychosis: A confirmatory factor analysis' (2017), 'Responding to challenges for people with psychotic illness: Updated evidence from the Survey of High Impact Psychosis' (2016), 'Communication skills in psychiatry training' (2015), 'Communication of a schizophrenia diagnosis: A qualitative study of patients’ perspectives' (2015), and 'A Simple Model for Evaluating Medical Treatment Options' (2015). His work has garnered 1,674 citations, reflecting contributions to clinical psychiatry and mental health research.