In 2013, Dr. Aly Cohen created The Smart Human LLC, a company designed to inform public and private institutions about environmental health concerns and practical solutions to help minimize chemical exposures. Whether found in hospital neonatology intensive care units, pre-schools, or even our own homes, the 90,000 chemicals surrounding us on a daily basis, may have serious health implications; neurodevelopmental, fertility, cancer, thyroid and other endocrine system risks. The human fetus, toddlers, and teens are particularly vulnerable to the effects of some extremely low-level chemical exposures due to rapid growth and cell turnover during these vulnerable windows of development.
The Smart Human was created to help address these concerns, and to partner with institutions, communities and everyday people, to create practical, cost-effective solutions. The Smart Human uses all available medical and toxicology texts, research articles, data bases and experts to come up with real-life recommendations for healthy living in a chemical-filled world. When strong data does not exist (or appropriate studies have not been performed), we turn to the Precautionary Principle to make common sense choices based the information available.
The goal is to educate and empower, without fear tactics, judgment or regret!
As Founder/Medical Director of The Smart Human LLC., Dr. Cohen has worked with the highly regarded, Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) on academic programs and chemical legislation. She has been a consultant for corporations such as Knowledge Universe, helping to reduce the chemical exposure of infants and toddlers in over 2,000 KinderCare Daycare Centers across the U.S. she is a legal consultant, having recently evaluated persons exposed to polyvinyl chloride from the train derailment in Paulsboro, NJ. As a national speaker, Aly has lectured to physicians at over 30 academic medical institutions. She works with middle and high schools nationally on environmental health topics and was honored to present, “Environmental Chemical Exposure and Schools: Health Effects and Practical Solutions”, at NAEYC’s 2014 National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development. Her pilot project with Princeton High School, integrating environmental health information into the current 9-12 grade human health and biology curriculum, is currently being beta-tested, with an eye towards integrating the program nationally. She was honored in 2015 with the New Jersey Healthcare Heroes Award for Education. She was recognized for “Top Docs NJ” in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, in rheumatology, and received the Burton L. Eichler humanitarian award for her community work in environmental health education. Dr. Cohen was asked by Dr. Andrew Weil to co-edit the “Integrative Environmental Medicine” text for his Weil/Oxford University Press academic series, published in 2017. Dr. Cohen taped her TEDx talk entitled, “How to Protect Your Kids from Toxic Chemicals”, in 2019, and her new book, “Non-Toxic: Guide to Living Healthy in a Chemical World”, published by Oxford University Press, was released in 2020.
