Dr. Benjamin Levine

Benjamin D. Levine, M.D, is a cardiologist and cardiovascular physiologist, the founding Director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital (www.texashealth.IEEM), and Professor of Medicine/Cardiology and Distinguished Professor of Exercise Science at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Levine is widely acknowledged as among the world’s leaders in the field of altitude training, and along with Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen, developed the “living high – training low” model of altitude training. He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and reviews in high quality journals including chapters for multiple versions of the Auerbach Textbook of Wilderness Medicine. He was awarded the Research Award from the Wilderness Medical Society, the Peter van Handel Award from the United States Olympic Committee, the Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and was nominated for the International Olympic Committee Scientific Prize for this body of work. Dr. Levine was a physician for the Himalayan Rescue Association, the Denali Medical Research Project, and is widely sought after for consultation regarding exposure to high altitude in patients with cardiovascular diseases. He was one of the first members of the Wilderness Medical Society when as a resident, he founded the Stanford Mountain Medicine Society, and has been a long time member of the WMS Research Committee. Dr. Levine also has extensive experience in space medicine, having led research efforts on multiple missions aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station for which he was awarded the 2021 Scientific Achievement award by the Aerospace Medicine Association, and the 2024 Space Life Sciences Award from the American Astronautical Society. He is the cardiologist for NASA and SpaceX, as well as multiple professional and collegiate sport teams.