Dr. Benjamin Tanner holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arizona, where he studied environmentally mediated disease transmission and assessed infection risks for farm workers. Dr. Tanner is the founder and principal of Antimicrobial Test Laboratories, a microbiology laboratory that specializes in testing and development of disinfectant chemicals and other antimicrobial technologies. Recently, he founded Cosmetic Test Labs, a contract research facility focused on ensuring the safety and stability of cosmetic and other personal care products.

Professor Dasta was a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) council, the governing body of SCCM, from 2007-2010. He is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. SCCM honored him by creating the Joseph F. Dasta Critical Care Pharmacy Outcomes Research Grant in 2000. Professor Dasta received the 2010 SCCM Distinguished Investigator Award and was the first pharmacist to receive this honor. Professor Dasta was the recipient of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Education Award in 2002 and the 2010 recipient of the Sustained Contributions to the Literature Award by American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He serves on the editorial board of Critical Care Medicine and Annals of Pharmacotherapy. Professor Dasta has over 250 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, brief communications, and book chapters on topics including sedation, analgesia, acute hypertension, hyponatremia, sepsis, acute kidney insufficiency, acute heart failure, and pharmacoeconomics and medication safety of acute care pharmaceuticals. He has also given over 250 lectures on various topics related to critical care and health outcomes.