Etty (Tika) Benveniste, Ph.D. is Senior Vice Dean for Research, UAB Heersink School of Medicine. She was the Founding Chair of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology (2012-2015), and served as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology (2000-2011). Dr. Benveniste was the Founding Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Education (1999-2001) and Director, Graduate Program in Cell Biology (1995-2000).
Dr. Benveniste initiated research as a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA in the emerging field of neuroimmunology, elucidating mechanisms by which the immune system and the central nervous system communicate and influence functionality. Specifically, her lab has focused on the interaction of T-cells, neutrophils, and macrophages with cells of the central nervous system (microglia, astrocytes). Specifically, her work focuses on signaling cascades mediated by the JAK/STAT pathway and Protein Kinase CK2 in terms of altering the functionality of immune cells and glial cells. These studies have implications for autoimmune/neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease. Her laboratory has over 250 publications on these topics in highly-ranked journals. Dr. Benveniste’s research is supported by grants from the NIH and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Dr. Benveniste was elected in 2009 as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Dr. Benveniste takes great pride in her mentorship activities, which include the training/mentoring of over 270 high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. Thirty-six graduate students have obtained their Ph.D. degree from Dr. Benveniste’s lab, with 1 currently training and 34 postdoctoral fellows have trained with her, with 2 currently training. In 2014, Dr. Benveniste received the UAB Graduate School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring.