Dr. Eli Cohen

Dr. Eli Cohen passed away peacefully in his home on May 1, 2018, surrounded by his wife and three children. He was husband to Carole Cohen; brother to Narda Gabbay; father to Margalit Tocher, Roslyn Veilleux, and Benjamin Cohen; and grandfather to Kaiden, Julian and Penelope Tocher, Wren Veilleux, and Tzadok, Meir, Pelah, Naomi and Danya Cohen. He was 79 years of age. Dr. Cohen was an entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of Thromboelastography. At the time that he started working on the TEG system, it was used predominantly for liver transplantation. He immediately saw the utility for all types of hemostasis monitoring and began working with leaders in the medical field to conduct research and expand the analyzer's protocols. After years of hard work, the technology developed into a well-respected data-based cardiovascular protocol and has continued to expand into other applications. Hundreds of thousands of lives are positively impacted each year due to this important system. Dr. Cohen authored numerous papers, and thousands more about the TEG System have been published. Throughout his time as CEO of Haemoscope Corporation and later Coramed Technologies, Dr. Cohen never lost sight of the patient. His enthusiasm came from a love of science, his belief in the endless potential of humanity and the people who could be saved. He was a teacher and an inspiration to everyone who worked with him. He didn't just build a company; he also created a dedicated family with a shared mission. He was a scientist, a visionary, a leader, a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was eager to share his wonder of nature and of science with those around him. Many were impacted by his passion and his intensity. Dr. Cohen was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1938. His family had lived in Baghdad since about 500 BCE. In 1951, when it became dangerous for the Jews living in Iraq, his family emigrated to Israel. He left with his mother and older sister Narda, three suitcases and little else. They had to relinquish their Iraqi citizenship, and all their assets were either frozen or taken by the state. He never forgot his country, the house where they lived, the open hospitality of his mother or the vibrant stars in the night sky. When he was 18 he joined the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper commando, after which he earned a bachelor's degree from Hebrew University. He then left Israel to further pursue his education in Manitoba, Canada. Dr. Cohen earned four degrees, in genetics and then statistics, from the University of Manitoba and Iowa State University. He worked at Vogelback Computing Center at Northwestern University, where he was instrumental in developing one of the most well respected and used statistical programs, in addition to heading the computing center and teaching statistics at the Dental School. While at Northwestern, Dr. Cohen showed his true entrepreneurial spirit by opening a number of companies. The company with the most impact was Haemoscope Corporation, where the majority of his work evolved. As his life's work continues to take hold throughout the world, Dr. Cohen quietly impacts more and more lives, far surpassing his too fleeting time here on Earth. He will be sorely missed but never forgotten. May his memory be for a blessing.