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One of the nation's leading prostate cancer specialists, Dr. Mitchell C. Benson has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Urology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) and Urologist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia.

Dr. Benson is the George F. Cahill Professor of Urology at P&S, a professorship established in 1957 to honor the former chairman of the Department of Urology. He is also attending physician and Director of Urologic Oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.

"Dr. Benson is renowned for his numerous accomplishments in the development of new surgical techniques to reduce the side effects of prostate and bladder-cancer surgery, and he was instrumental in the application of the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test," says Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "He is also a superb clinician, dedicated to treating each patient individually and with compassion. I am delighted to welcome Dr. Benson to his new position as Chairman and Chief."

"Dr. Benson exemplifies the mission of Columbia University Medical Center: excellence in research, education and patient care. He has been named teacher of the year at CUMC, as well as one of America's best doctors. He has also received countless accolades for his groundbreaking research, which has resulted in earlier diagnosis of prostate cancer for thousands of men," says Dr. Gerald D. Fischbach, Executive Vice President of Columbia University Medical Center. "Dr. Benson will serve as an outstanding leader to Columbia's urology department."

Dr. Benson received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1977. Following an internship and residency in general surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, he became Chief Resident in Urology at The Presbyterian Hospital (now NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia). He also completed a research fellowship in urologic oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and he was Ferdinand C. Valentine Fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine and the American Urological Association Scholar. He joined the faculty of Columbia's Department of Urology in 1984 and was named Herbert Irving Assistant Professor in 1988.

The National Cancer Institute has long supported his research. Over the past two decades, he has authored some 200 scientific articles and has presented more than 200 papers at national meetings.

Dr. Benson is a member of numerous professional organizations and societies, including the Society of Basic Urologic Research, of which he is a founding member. He was Editor of Current Opinion in Urology, for the September 1999, September 2000, and September 2003 issues.

Dr. Benson's honors and achievements include the P&S Urology Prize; "Teacher of the Year," Squier Urologic Clinic, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, 1997, 1999-2000; New York magazine's "Best Doctors" 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000-2005; and "The Best Doctors in America" (Woodward/White, Inc.), 1994.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is the largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital in the country. It provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory, and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, the Allen Pavilion, and the Westchester Division. It consistently ranks as one of the top hospitals in the country in U.S.News & World Report's guide to "America's Best Hospitals." The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System an affiliation of acute-care and community hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory sites, and specialty institutes serves one in four patients in the New York metropolitan area.

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, medical education, and health care. The medical center trains future leaders in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the School of Dental & Oral Surgery, the School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. With a strong history of discovery in health care, Columbia University Medical Center researchers are leading the development of novel therapies and advances to address a wide range of health conditions.