UAB Multiple Sclerosis Center Co-Director and the School of Medicine’s Senior Vice Dean for Basic Sciences was selected for induction into the National MS Society’s Scientific Research Volunteer Hall of Fame. The award honors top medical professionals, fundraisers, advocates, and volunteers throughout the country who continue to impact the world for people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Benveniste, an international expert on the biologic pathways linking the nervous and immune systems, came to UAB in 1986 as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and became a full professor in 1995 serving in the Departments of Cell Biology, Physiology and Biophysics, Neurology and Neurobiology. From 2000-2011, she was chair of the Department of Cell Biology and became the founding chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology in 2012 before serving as Associate Dean for Research Administration and Development in the School of Medicine. She is Associate Vice President for Medicine and Basic Sciences and associate director for basic Science research at UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. She holds the Charlene A. Jones Endowed Chair of Neuroimmunology. She is a member of multiple NIH study sections and chaired three different NIH Study Sections.
During her postdoctoral studies, in the Department of Neurology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Benveniste initiated research on elucidating the mechanisms by which cells of the immune system and the central nervous system communicate and influence functionality, cytokine/chemokine production by glial cells, the effects of cytokines/chemokines on glial cell function, and the ability of glial cells to function as immune effector cells in the brain. This research continues to date. These studies have implications for autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and cancers such as brain tumors.
The award presentation took place on November 9, 2018 during the society’s Leadership Conference in Atlanta, GA.