Dr. Denis R Benjamin

Denis R Benjamin grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, receiving his medical degree from the University of Witwatersrand. He emigrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1970. For forty years, he practiced pediatric pathology at children's hospitals in Seattle, Washington, and Fort Worth, Texas. He was a professor in the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He was editor-in-chief of the Pediatric Pathology Journal and served as president of the Society for Pediatric Pathology. Over the years, he became involved in a variety of international health initiatives, volunteering for Project Hope and the China Medical Board. That took him to China, Thailand, Taiwan, Russia, and Kazakstan. He developed an interest in mycology soon after his arrival in the USA and is a frequent speaker at mushroom societies. In addition to nearly 100 professional publications, he has contributed to lay literature and mushroom magazines and was a community Op/Ed writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He retired from medical practice in 2010 and is now a Research Associate at the Botanic Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth. He no longer skis gives cooking classes, or races sailboats and is focusing on becoming a watercolorist.