John Benitez, MD, MPH

National Preparedness and Response Science Board Member

John G. Benitez’s interest in disaster preparedness developed while a faculty member at three universities: University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Benitez attained his BA degree from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and MD from Southern Illinois University, Springfield and his MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His surgical residency was served at Southwestern Michigan Area Health Education, Kalamazoo, Michigan, his Hyperbaric Medicine Mini-Fellowship at St. Lukes Hospital, Milwaukee, WI, his medical education fellowship was completed at EMF/Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, Dallas, and his Clinical Toxicology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Benitez is now the medical director of emergency preparedness at the State Health Department. Prior to becoming the Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness, Dr. Benitez

John G. Benitez’s interest in disaster preparedness developed while a faculty member at three universities: University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Benitez attained his BA degree from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and MD from Southern Illinois University, Springfield and his MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His surgical residency was served at Southwestern Michigan Area Health Education, Kalamazoo, Michigan, his Hyperbaric Medicine Mini-Fellowship at St. Lukes Hospital, Milwaukee, WI, his medical education fellowship was completed at EMF/Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas, Dallas, and his Clinical Toxicology Fellowship at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Benitez is now the medical director of emergency preparedness at the State Health Department.

Prior to becoming the Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness, Dr. Benitez

was appointed Professor of Clinical Medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he still is appointed as Adjunct Professor in the same department. He was also Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, Community and Preventive Medicine, Environmental Medicine, and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York where he worked as the managing director of the RA Lawrence Poison and Drug Information Center.

From 2000-2008, he also was Director of the Finger Lakes Regional Resource Center (the Regional Healthcare Emergency Preparedness center), University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. He has also served as Medical Director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and the Multidisciplinary MPH program (Graduate School of Public Health), both at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Strengthening the Disaster Resilience of Academic Research Communities. He is also a Preventive Medical Officer with the US Army Reserves, Medical Corps.

National Biodefense Science Board

This page last reviewed: November 01, 2021