Dr. William Benzing serves as the Scientific Review Officer (SRO) for the Training and Diversity Team - NST-1
Dr. William Benzing is the Scientific Review Officer for the NST-1 study section, which reviews the training grant mechanisms in which the NINDS participates. These include the diversity F99/K00, diversity K01 and K22, clinician scientist K02, and clinician scientist mentored K08, K22 and K23 training grant mechanisms. Prior to taking over the NST-1 study section in early 2016, Dr. Benzing ran the NSD-C study section, which reviewed a broad range of basic and translational research grant applications focused on epilepsy, pain, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, neurovirology, and neuroinflammation. In 2006, Dr. Benzing came to NINDS from the NIH Center for Scientific Review where he was the Deputy Chief for CSR's Brain Disorders and Clinical Neurosciences IRG and SRO for the BDCN-2/Clinical Neuroplasticity and Neurotransmitters (CNNT) Study Section. Prior to joining CSR, Dr. Benzing worked seven years in the biotech industry as a senior project leader at Gliatech, Inc., Cleveland, OH. There, he managed a program to develop anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, myocardial ischemia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Benzing received a Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied the development of the senile plaques that form in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's Disease. After a brief stint at Georgetown University, he moved to Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago where he conducted studies focused upon neural development, neuroimmunology and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Dr. Benzing also performed research on the effect of aging upon a variety of neurotransmitters systems, including their phylogenetic differences among primates and their expression during human development, aging, and Alzheimer's disease.