Richard Benson, MD, PhD, FAAN

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Health

Dr. Richard Benson is the Director of the “Office of Global Health and Health Disparities” (OGHHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Benson attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He then attended Meharry Medical College and received his MD and PhD (in Neurophysiology) degrees. At Meharry, he received numerous research honors and was inducted in the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) national medical honor society. Subsequently, he completed a neurology residency at the Harvard-Longwood neurology residency program in Boston, Massachusetts. After that he completed a two-year neuro-vascular fellowship at the neurological Institute at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, while completing a master’s degree in Epidemiology at the Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Benson has worked in academia, the public, and the private sectors. Outside of his work at the NIH, he is an associate editor of DEI for the Neurology journals and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology DEI committee. His areas of interest and expertise include neurological health disparities/inequities, minority, community, and global health.