This historical black-and-white photograph depicts Dr. Donald Warren Benson, a pioneer in anesthesiology and critical care, leaning against a white-tiled wall in a mid-20th-century professional medical setting such as an operating room or hospital corridor. Dr. Benson is wearing standard clinical surgical scrubs and a matching surgical cap with his arms crossed over his chest, looking directly at the camera with a calm expression. A surgical mask is untied and hangs loosely around his neck, reflecting his role as the Anesthesiologist-in-Charge at The Johns Hopkins Hospital during a period when he transitioned the division into a major academic department and established one of the nation's first surgical intensive care units. The image is professionally composed to represent the clinical innovation and leadership associated with the Donald W. and Marjorie A.M. Benson Lectureship at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The Donald W. Benson, MD Lectureship was established in 1993 by family, friends and former colleagues to honor the contributions of Dr. Benson. In 2014, the name was changed to The Donald W. and Marjorie A.M. Benson Lectureship to honor Marjorie’s life-long relationship with Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Guest Lecturer Daniel J. Clauw, MD
Guest Lecturer Daniel J. Clauw, MD

“Innovative Collaborative Perioperative/Perianesthesia Evidence-Based Practice: Igniting Clinical Inquiry of Bedside Nurses!”

Thursday, May 7, 2026
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Hurd Hall
Please check your ACCM email for Zoom link and password to watch live.

Presented by:

Daniel J. Clauw, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology, Medicine, and Psychiatry
Director, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research
The University of Michigan

About Dr. Clauw:

Dr. Clauw is a Professor of Anesthesiology, Medicine (Rheumatology) and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. He serves as Director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center and Co-Director of the HEAL National K12 Clinical Pain Career Development Program. Until January 2009 he also served as the first Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research within the University of Michigan Medical School, and PI of the UM Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). Since joining UM in 2001, Dr. Clauw has continued his commitment to the clinical care and research into overlapping conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Gulf War Illnesses, and Interstitial Cystitis just to name a few, having become an internationally known expert in chronic pain, and especially the central nervous system contributions to chronic pain states, performing past or ongoing work in conditions such as low back pain, osteoarthritis, vulvodynia, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and temporomandibular joint disorder.

Donald W. and Marjorie A.M. Benson

This image is a black-and-white landscape-oriented composite featuring two individual portraits separated by centered text. The left portrait is a black-and-white photograph of Dr. Donald W. Benson, M.D., Ph.D., standing in a professional medical setting wearing light-colored surgical scrubs, a surgical cap, and a mask pulled down around his neck. He stands with his arms crossed while leaning against a white-tiled wall characteristic of a hospital corridor or operating room. Centered in the white space between the two portraits is elegant, italicized serif text that reads Donald W. Benson, M.D., Ph.D. and Marjorie A.M. Benson. The right portrait is a black-and-white headshot of Marjorie A.M. Benson, who is styled in a formal updo with glasses and a dark high-necked top. Both individual portraits are enclosed in thin black rectangular frames against a plain white background. The composition follows a formal institutional style used for professional dedications or faculty recognition within a medical department.

Donald W. Benson was born in Jamestown, New York in 1921, and earned his bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Chicago in 1949. He attended the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and earned his medical degree in 1950. Following his internship in Buffalo, New York, and his residency in anesthesiology at the University of Chicago Clinics, Dr. Benson remained at the University of Chicago as a faculty member in anesthesiology and, in 1957, received his doctoral degree in pharmacology.

Marjorie Ann Maulsby Benson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1923, but grew up on the family farm near South Haven, Michigan. Her parents would work the farm during the summer months. Her father would teach school and her mother would teach piano in town during the winter months. Thus, Marjorie’s training as a pianist began at an early age and continued when she attended North Park College and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Illinois. She won the Young Artists’ Competition of the Society of American Musicians, making her formal concert debut at Chicago’s Kimball Hall in November 1942. It was while attending North Park that Marjorie met her future husband. Donald and Marjorie where married in 1945.

In 1956, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine recruited Dr. Benson as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Anesthesiologist-In-Charge at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. At that time, anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins was simply a support service. One of Dr. Benson’s major accomplishments was establishing a full-fledged residency program in anesthesiology and recruiting top-caliber applicants.

Dr. Benson promoted the use of ventilators in surgery and clinical care. While in Chicago, he and a colleague developed a unique positive-pressure ventilator. At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Benson used these ventilators during extensive operations and in the immediate postoperative period. Perhaps one of Dr. Benson’s most important contributions to Johns Hopkins was his role in developing a surgical intensive care unit. He began lobbying for an intensive care unit in the early 1960s and spent almost a decade making it a reality. By the late 1960s, anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins matured into subspecialties including cardiac, obstetric, and ophthalmological anesthesiology thanks to Dr. Benson’s leadership.

After the move to Baltimore, Marjorie became active in the music community, giving frequent recitals and sometimes accompanying her husband who was an accomplished tenor. She was the featured soloist on two occasions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the early 1960s. Marjorie also excelled as hostess for the yearly Anesthesiology parties, establishing enduring friendships with the faculty and staff.

In 1974, Dr. Benson returned to the University of Chicago as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology. He remained at the University of Chicago until his death in 1985 at age 63. Marjorie continued giving recitals after the move back to Chicago. She returned to the American Conservatory of Music and graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1987. She was active as a community volunteer in Hyde Park, as well as with the Chicago Symphony and the Newberry Library, and directed the music program at her retirement community in Chicago until her death in August 2013 at age 90.

Upcoming Grand Rounds

    • 5/14/2026: Patient-Based Learning Discussion
    • 5/21/2026: Combined Grand Rounds (Periop)
    • 5/28/2026: Quality Assurance Committee Meeting
    • 6/4/2026: Richard J. Traystman Lectureship (tentative)
    • 6/11/2026: Patient-Based Learning Discussion
    • 6/18/2026: TBA
    • 6/25/2026: Quality Assurance Committee Meeting
    • 7/2/2026: HOLIDAY
    • 7/9/2026: State of the Department
    • 7/16/2026: PBLD/Resident Introductions
    • 7/23/2026: TBA
    • 7/30/2026: Quality Assurance Committee Meeting

Previous Grand Rounds