Ruth Benca is professor and chair of psychiatry & human behavior in the School of Medicine at UC Irvine. She is a former professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research. She also served as the medical director for Wisconsin Sleep where she treated patients with a broad range of sleep disorders. Dr. Benca received her PhD in pathology and her MD degree from the University of Chicago in Illinois before completing a residency in Psychiatry and a fellowship in Sleep Medicine, also at the University of Chicago. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Society for Neuroscience, the Sleep Research Society (SRS), the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the American Psychiatric Association; she has served as President of the SRS and on the Board of Directors of the AASM. Additionally, she is a Deputy Editor of Sleep: Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research. Dr. Benca has served as principal investigator for a number of basic and clinical research studies and has presented her research findings at a variety of national meetings. She has coauthored numerous articles, reviews and book chapters, and her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Defense. Among her awards and honors, Dr. Benca was selected to participate in the Hedwig van Amerigen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women (2004-2005).
Suggested Reading:
"Six snooze strategies to help you sleep better," by Jim Gorman. Men's Health, March 2009
For Further Inquiry:
Wisconsin Sleep Center website
"Science and Sleep," [video] a Healthy Body, Healthy Mind program
