Helene Benveniste

Scientist

Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg. 490 - P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

Research Interests

• Early diagnosis of Alzheimers’ Disease with MRI
• MR Contrast Mechanisms in Neurodegenerative diseases
• Neuroinformatics imaging database for transgentic mice
• I am primarily interested in determining how ionizing radiation affects cells of the human central nervous system. Radiation from high energy, charged ions found outside of the earth's protective magnetosphere have great potential to cause acute and chronic health problems for astronauts during and after space missions. To assess human risk and determine the molecular mechanisms of radiation induced damage, we use a model in vitro system consisting of human neuronal progenitor cells and their terminally differentiated, post-mitotic derivatives (neurons). Experiments are performed following irradiation of these cells to measure effects such as the inductions of apoptosis and necrosis, changes in gene/protein expression and perturbations of the cell cycle. In addition, pharmacological compounds are tested in an effort to counteract the toxic effects of radiation exposure.

Education & Concurrent Positions

• M.D. from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 19--?
• Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Institute of Neuropathology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 19--?
• Fellowship in high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, 1990-1992.
• Internship in primary care/Family Medicine followed by a Residency in Anesthesiology at Duke University, 1993-1996.
• Faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University, 1996-2001.
• Full Professor of Anesthesiology, SUNY-SB and Scientist in the Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 20--?-present.

Selected Publications

• Benveniste H.
  Glutamate, microdialysis & cerebral ischemia: lost in translation?
  Anesthesiology, 110(2):422-425 (2009).  PubMed
• Wagshul M.E., McAllister J.P., Rashid S., Li J., Egnor M.R., Walker M.L., Yu M., Smith S.D., Zhang G., Chen J.J., and Benveniste H.
  Ventricular dilation and elevated aqueductal pulsations in a new experimental model of communicating hydrocephalus
  Experimental Neurology (2009), April 3, epub ahead of print.  PubMed
• Connor D.M., Benveniste H., Dilmanian F.A., Kritzer M.F., Miller L.M., and Zhong Z.
  Computed tomography of amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease using diffraction enhanced imaging
  NeuroImage (2009), March 19, epub ahead of print. PubMed
• Luo Z., Yu M., Smith S.D., Kritzer M., Du C., Ma Y., Volkow N.D., Glass P.S., and Benveniste H.
  The Effect of Intravenous Lidocaine on Brain Activation During Non-Noxious and Acute Noxious Stimulation of Forepaw: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in the Rat
  Anesthesia and Analgesia, 334-344 (2009). PubMed
• Baler R., Volkow N.D., Fowler J.S., and Benveniste H. Is fetal brain monoamine oxidase inhibition the missing link between maternal smoking and conduct disorders?
  Journal of Psychiatry Neuroscience, 33(3):187-195, 2008. PubMed
• Djuric P., Benveniste H., Wagshul M.E., Henn F., Enikolopov G., and Maletic-Savatic M.
  Reponse to Comments on Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Identifies Neural Progenitor Cells in the Live Human Brain.
  Science, 321: no.640e. (2008).
• Maletic-Savatic M., Vingaro L.K., Manganas L.N., Zhang S., Sierra A., Hazel R., Smith S.D., Wagshul M.E., Henn F., Krupp L., Enikolopov G., Benveniste H., Djuric P., Pelczer I.
  Metabolomics of neural progenitor cells: a novel approach to biomarker discovery
  Submitted to: Cold Spring Harbor Press (2008). PubMed
• Benveniste H., Kim K., Zhang L., and Johnson G.A.
  Magnetic Resonance Microscopy of the C57BL Mouse Brain.
  NeuroImage, 11(6 Pt 1):601-611 (2000). PubMed
• Benveniste H., Einstein G., Kim K., Hulette C., and Johnson G.A.
  Detection of neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease by magnetic resonance microscopy.
  PNAS, 96(24):14079-14084 (1999). PubMed
• Benveniste H., Hedlund L.W., and Johnson G.A.
  Mechanism of detection of acute cerebral ischemia in rats by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance
  microscopy. Stroke, 23(5):746-754 (1992). PubMed
• Benveniste H., and Hüttemeier P.
  Microdialysis - Theory and application.
  Progress in Neurobiology, 35(3):195-215 (1990). PubMed
• Benveniste H., Drejer J., Schousboe A., and Diemer N.H.
  Elevation of the extracellular concentrations of glutamate and aspartate in rat hippocampus during transient cerebral ischemia monitored by intracerebral microdialysis.
  J. Neurochem., 43(5):1369-1374 (1984). PubMed

Last Modified: May 8, 2009
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One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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