Benedict and Bradford Receive Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence

Benedict was recognized for excellence in scholarship and creative activities, and Bradford was honored for excellence in teaching. 

Benedict, one of the top three experts in his field worldwide, is recognized for his influential research in psychological, behavioral and cognitive attributes of multiple sclerosis (MS). 

His landmark 2004 and 2005 studies, published in the Archives of Neurology and the Journal of Neurological Sciences, were the first to show that cognitive dysfunction is the most important predictor of vocational disability for MS patients, and implicate the deep gray matter in predicting the presence of cognitive dysfunction in this population.

Benedict's research has challenged traditional MS knowledge and is transforming the way clinicians and researchers think about MS disease activity. 

A faculty member since 1992, Benedict directs an outpatient neuropsychology practice at Buffalo General Medical Center and an inpatient consultation service at Erie County Medical Center. He is a consultant to the NHL and NFL for neuropsychological consultations of head trauma.  

Benedict has nearly 200 publications, many of which have been cited more than 100 times. Two of his memory tests, the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test Revised and the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test Revised, are widely used in the areas of MS, head injury and schizophrenia; both are used by the NHL and NFL. 

Benedict’s research is typically funded by pharmaceutical companies and competitive awards from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Over the past five years his funding has totaled $2.25 million. 

Bradford not only has been primary thesis adviser for four doctoral students and two master’s students, but he has also trained more than 20 students in his laboratory. That group includes students from minority apprenticeship programs, undergraduate research and the NYS Summer Institute for Science and Mathematics.

His course evaluations rate him among the top instructors during every term. Students regularly comment on how passionate, engaging, approachable and knowledgeable Bradford is as an educator.

Nationally and internationally recognized authority in endocrine pharmacology and signal transduction, Bradford’s research focuses on how hormones and nutrients affect cell growth in bone osteoblasts and breast normal epithelial cells and cancers of both tissues.

Nationally, he has been invited to make 23 presentations of his research findings at national venues such as Yale University and the American Association for Dental Research.

Internationally, Bradford has presented invited talks at locations including Beijing Medical University and WCTF Television Canada. 

Bradford also co-founded the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics New York Pharmacology Society in 2010. The annual meeting is a showcase for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral research presentations from upstate New York and Canada.