Speciasl Guest:

Dr. Richard Benson is Director of the Office of Global Health and Health Disparities (OGHHD) in the NINDS Division of Clinical Research.

He is a leader in the fields of vascular neurology and health disparities research. His areas of research interest and expertise include: health disparities and health equity research, and minority, community, and global health.

Dr. Benson has worked in the public and private sectors and is a volunteer with several professional organizations.

He is a past president and current board member of the American Heart Association (AHA), Greater Washington Region (GWR).

He was a member of the national AHA Stroke Council and is currently an American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Registries committee member.

Dr. Benson received his B.S. in Chemistry from Fisk University, followed by an MD/PhD from Meharry Medical College in Neurophysiology (elected to AOA). Subsequently, he completed his neurology residency at the Harvard-Longwood neurology residency program in Boston, and a stroke fellowship at the Columbia University Neurological Institute in New York, while obtaining an M.S. in Epidemiology from the Mailman School of Public Health.