Rajal G. Cohen, Cohen, Ph.D., M.AmSAT

Associate Professor
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho

Rajal G. Cohen, Ph.D., M.AmSAT, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology & Communication at the University of Idaho, affiliate faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, and a member of the graduate faculty in the Human Factors graduate program. She is also an adjunct at Washington State University. As the director of the Mind in Movement Lab, she supervises M.S. and Ph.D. students in psychology and neuroscience. The lab focuses on the role of cognitive factors in human movement and posture.

Dr. Cohen completed her Alexander Technique training in 1997 at the Virginia School for Alexander . She received a B.A. in Psychology from Wesleyan University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology (with a minor in Kinesiology) from Penn State University. Her graduate work focused on motor learning and on ways that cognitive limitations cause us to move less optimally than popular theories of motor control propose. She completed a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University, where she collaborated with leading experts in neurology, physical therapy, and brain imaging on projects related to posture, gait initiation, inhibitory control, Parkinson’s disease, and the neural connections between brain areas associated with so-called “higher functions” and those associated with so-called “lower functions.” Her current research focuses on the costs and benefits of different types of postural training and biofeedback, in healthy adults as well as those with Parkinson’s disease or musculoskeletal pain. Since 2016, Dr. Cohen has been the Scientific Consultant for The Poise Project (thepoiseproject.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding innovative ways to bring Alexander Technique principles and tools to people who need it most. For more information on Dr. Cohen, including links to published articles, see www.RajalCohen.com.