Dr. Felicia Cosman, MD

Dr. Felicia Cosman, MD is a clinical scientist, endocrinologist and osteoporosis specialist.  She is a professor of medicine at Columbia University and a North American Co-Editor in Chief of the journal Osteoporosis International, an international multidisciplinary journal that focuses on research related to the diagnosis, prevention and management of osteoporosis. She received a BA from Cornell, MD from Stony Brook, and completed internship, residency and endocrinology fellowship at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Cosman has had many grants from NIH, DOD, foundations and industry and has published over 185 peer-reviewed papers in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association. She has written over 50 book chapters for textbooks in internal medicine (multiple editions of Harrison’s Internal Medicine), osteoporosis, endocrinology, rheumatology, and gynecology. She has been a coeditor for several professional textbooks, including “Osteoporosis: An Evidence Based Approach to the Prevention of Fractures” (American College of Physicians) and “Marcus and Feldman’s Osteoporosis Fifth Edition” (Elsevier Academic Press). She is the author of “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Osteoporosis” (Warner Books).

Prior to her role as Editor in Chief of Osteoporosis International in 2016, Dr. Cosman served as Review Editor for the same journal and Associate Editor for the journal Bone. Over her 30-year career, she has been on many task forces and advisory groups sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (now Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation), the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, the North American Menopause Society and the Society of Women’s Health Research regarding many issues in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. Dr. Cosman has been an advisor and consultant to multiple companies involved in the development of osteoporosis medications.

The main focus of her research has been in the use of anabolic (bone building) medications and treatment sequencing.  Dr. Cosman has investigated the effect of teriparatide on biochemical and bone density outcomes, bone strength by finite element analysis, and cellular actions using bone biopsy.  She studied the effect of teriparatide on bone formation in a unique study of the human femur in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty and performed an extensive series of investigations evaluating cyclic, combination and sequential regimens of teriparatide with antiresorptive agents.  Dr. Cosman has been a primary investigator on pivotal studies evaluating the efficacy of abaloparatide and romosozumab treatment and their role in treatment of osteoporosis.  She is well known for work on optimizing anabolic treatment regimens, longterm treatment strategies, and implementing therapeutic goals for osteoporosis management.

Dr. Cosman received the American College of Endocrinology’s Distinction in Endocrinology Award in 2019 and the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research’s Frederick C Bartter Award for excellence in clinical research in September 2020.