Dr. Alan Cohen is Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Chair of Biological Complexity and Healthy Longevity, and Co-Director of the Science of Health Program in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University. In his research, Alan takes a theoretical biology approach to some of the biggest questions in science, including what aging is and what it means to be alive. Rather than viewing biology only as a collection of individual genes, molecules, and cells, he studies how these components interact as complex dynamic systems to maintain the internal balance that supports health. His work explores how the breakdown of these interconnected systems may underlie aging and disease, and how scientists can develop new ways to measure and understand these changes beyond traditional reductionist approaches. When he's not working, Alan enjoys practicing Aikido, a martial art he first learned while living in Japan. He also does contact improvisation dance, where partners use spontaneous points of physical contact to create movement together without knowing where the dance will lead. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and he was awarded his PhD in Biology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Afterwards, Alan completed postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Sherbrooke. He then served on the faculty at the University of Sherbrooke for about 12 years before accepting a position at Columbia University in 2022. Alan has received various awards and honors, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging New Investigator Prize of Excellence in Research on Aging and the CIHR New Investigator Salary Award. In this interview, he shares more about his life and science.