Ruth Benca

Ruth M. Benca is an American psychiatrist and researcher in the fields of sleep medicine and neuropsychiatry. She is professor and chair of the department of psychiatry and human behavior at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Early life and education
Benca received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. Following this, she obtained both her medical degree (M.D.) and a doctorate in pathology (Ph.D.) from the University of Chicago.

Career
Benca has been a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where she served as the chair of the department of psychiatry and human behavior. Later, she moved to the Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she holds the same positions.

Benca's research focused on the interplay between sleep and psychiatric disorders across an individual's lifespan, including role of sleep and sleep disorders on Alzheimer's disease and their potential contribution to its onset and progression.

She also contributed to the understanding of chronic insomnia, its diagnosis, treatment, and consequences, and discovered the bi-directional relationship between peripheral glucose metabolism and sleep disorders, and she has also made contributions to understanding sleep's relationship with mood disorders, and sleep in birds.

Research
Benca studied the association of poor sleep with biomarkers of amyloid pathology in older adults, finding a potential relationship between disturbed sleep and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. She also participated in research assessing the link between brain inflammation, Alzheimer's risk, and sleep disturbance.