Dr. Benveniste has spent 28 years studying cells of the immune system and central nervous system with a particular focus on the role of soluble mediators, such as interferons, cytokines and chemokines. These studies have implications for a number of autoimmune/neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Her laboratory has extensive expertise in neuroimmunology, T-cell biology, macrophage biology, signaling cascades, cytokine biology and pre-clinical models. Major focuses in the Benveniste lab center on how aberrant activation of the JAK/STAT and NF-κB pathways contribute to hyperactivation of the innate and adaptive immune system and the promotion of neurodegeneration.

Dr. Benveniste has trained and mentored over 150 high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, medical fellows and visiting scholars; specifically, 34 graduate students have obtained their PhD degree and four are currently training in her laboratory. In addition, she has mentored 28 postdoctoral fellows. Most graduate students and postdoctoral fellows that trained in the Benveniste lab are in academic faculty positions.