Dr. Cooper is an epidemiologist with a research program focused on the effects of medications on vulnerable populations of children and the impact of health care systems on patient outcomes. He has published more than 150 manuscripts describing population-based studies of medication use in children and pregnant women in journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Surgery, and JAMA Psychiatry.

Dr. Cooper’s research has focused on assessing the safety of medications for a variety of vulnerable populations, including studies of adverse fetal outcomes following psychotropic drugs in children and exposures to medications during pregnancy for populations of women in the Tennessee Medicaid program, with studies of ACE inhibitor exposures and cardiac malformations, effects of antibiotics taken during pregnancy, the fetal effects of immunosuppressive medications taken for autoimmune conditions, and work exploring the fetal effects of opioid medications taken during pregnancy. He has also studied health outcomes for vulnerable populations of children with sickle cell disease. More recent work has focused on the intersection of physician professionalism and health outcomes. He has successfully competed for funding to support his research program and has been the principal investigator for 10 federally-funded research projects.

Dr. Cooper's work has influenced policy, including medication labeling by HealthCanada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. By influencing practice in this way, Dr. Cooper's work has reduced the likelihood that children will experience entirely preventable major malformations.

Dr. Cooper has also been a highly effective mentor, having successfully mentored over 30 individuals; many of which currently hold faculty positions and have successfully obtained K and R awards.

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