Dr. Benson has been a toxicologist at Lovelace for 40 years and currently has Emeritus Status. She has investigated the toxicity, PK, or biodistribution of metals, solvents, polymers, natural products, select agents, vesicants and gene therapeutics. She has evaluated the efficacy of a variety of pharmaceuticals to prevent pulmonary, ocular and cutaneous diseases. She has managed over 10 complex, multiyear contracts or grants with the government (Department of Energy, National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID], National Institute of Environmental Health Science [NIEHS], and the current GTRP contract for NHLBI) as well as for industry consortia. She has extensive experience conducting studies under GLP Guidelines. As Co-PI of the Pharmacology/Toxicology Core for the NHLBI GTRP, she consults with investigators in developing their pre-IND packages for preclinical therapy development.
Dr. Benson holds a BS degree in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD in Comparative Pharmacology and Toxicology from UC, Davis. She was a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology from 1981 - 2017. She has over 100 publications in the scientific literature, has served on scientific advisory Committees (National Academy of Sciences, the EPA IRIS review committee, and American Conference of Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Value Committee) and currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the US Transuranium and Uranium Registries. She is an active member of the American Society for Gene and Cellular Therapy.