After receiving her master’s degree and doctorate in cell physiology from New York University, Cobb entered the National Cancer Institute for a postdoctoral fellowship. Her research involved designing new experiments to compare the in vivo effects of chemotherapeutic agents with in vitro effects on the same tissue obtained from the patient. She returned to New York University and entered an exciting phasic cell research in the cancer chemotherapy program. Her research on normal and malignant pigment cells continued for 22 years. Her publications in this field include 50 books, articles, and other scholarly reports.
She became an influential promoter of programs which increased girls’, women’s and minority students’ interest in scientific careers. She has been awarded 18 honorary doctoral degrees.