Felicia Cosman

Felicia Cosman is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Co-Editor in Chief of Osteoporosis International. Dr. Cosman was funded by the NIH through a Specialized Center of Research Program and subsequent individual NIH awards for 30 years and has had grants from the Department of Defense, industry and several foundations and societies. She has published over 170 peer-reviewed papers and over 50 book chapters. In her early research, she utilized...See more

Felicia Cosman is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Co-Editor in Chief of Osteoporosis International. Dr. Cosman was funded by the NIH through a Specialized Center of Research Program and subsequent individual NIH awards for 30 years and has had grants from the Department of Defense, industry and several foundations and societies. She has published over 170 peer-reviewed papers and over 50 book chapters. In her early research, she utilized dynamic tests of the PTH/Vitamin D axis to investigate effects of menopause, estrogen, and selective estrogen receptor agonists and also to study racial differences in skeletal metabolism. She studied interrelationships among MS, vitamin D deficiency and glucocorticoids, and evaluated causes of stress fractures and peak bone mass accrual in military cadets attending USMA. She also studied vertebral fracture prevalence in the US using dual x-ray based vertebral fracture assessment in an NHANES population. Throughout her career, she has investigated many pharmaceutical agents, including a series of studies on the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid and the duration and potency of its effects after discontinuation. The main focus of her research has been in the clinical use of anabolic medications for osteoporosis treatment. She has studied teriparatide action using biochemical markers of bone turnover, bone density, central and peripheral computed tomography and finite element analysis as well transiliac crest bone biopsy. In a novel trial, she evaluated the early effect of teriparatide on the rate and location of bone formation in the human femoral neck in patients undergoing total hip replacement for arthritis. She has investigated cyclic, combination and sequential regimens of terriparatide and antiresorptive agents, including alendronate, raloxifene, zoledronic acid and denosumab. She has been a participant in studies evaluating novel PTH formulations and delivery systems and experimental anabolic agents. She was a lead investigator on pivotal studies of abaloparatide and romosozumab and evaluations of the influence of early bone density gains on the persistent effect against fracture. Dr. Cosman is known for advocating early use of anabolic agents in high-risk patients, optimizing treatment sequences, rotating therapies in long-term treatment strategies and considering therapeutic goals for osteoporosis management. She has been a participant on multiple ASBMR task forces and NIH workshops, and many other advisory committees. She was NOF's Clinical Director for 20 years and lead author of the NOF Clinician's Guide in 2014. She has been the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Osteoporosis International since 2015 and has received multiple awards including the NOF Generations Award and the ACE Distinction in Endocrinology Award. In 2020, she was given the ASBMR 2020 Frederic C. Bartter Award for excellence in clinical research. See less