Staff Bios

Dr. Benton received his B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. from The University of Vermont College of Medicine. He did his internship in Internal Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. Following internship he and his wife who is also a physician spent a year as internists at the L.B.J. Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Upon return, he finished his Internal Medicine Residency and a combined Cardiology and Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center. At Georgetown, his area of concentration was in the metabolism of antiarryhtmic drugs.

Since 1997 he has practiced in Troy and Albany. He is the Chief of Cardiology at Samaritan Hospital and is Past President of the Medical Staff. Dr. Benton is Board Certified in Cardiovascular Disease and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In addition he is certified in the subspecialties of Nuclear Cardiology and Adult Echocardiography. He has earned the title of Certified Physician Investigator from the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.

The Division of Clinical Research has participated in approximately 30 clinical trials in both the inpatients and outpatients settings. Many of these have been landmark studies published in the such journals at the New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation and The Lancet.

Amanda is the newly appointed Manager for the Division of Clinical Research at Capital Cardiology Associates in Albany, NY. She has worked for Capital Cardiology in Troy and Albany for over five years.

Amanda obtained her BS degree in Biology from SUNY Albany in 2006. She had worked in the research field part-time for 2 years for a local Neurology group before obtaining her Clinical Research Coordinator position at Capital Cardiology in July 2006. In 2010, she became a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator. Most recently, Amanda pursued her degree in Nursing from Hudson Valley Community College and graduated in May 2011, which has expanded her knowledge and aided her growth in her field.

CCA research studies have included areas in Acute Coronary Syndrome, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart failure. The research field continues to change and grow and many new studies are on the horizon.

Amy Kasson is one of the Albany Clinical Research Coordinators. Amy’s career stared in 1990 as a quality control technician for an independent silicone manufacturing company located in Waterford, New York. In 1992, she was offered a position in the research and development department.

Over the last 20 years, her research has aided in the design and implementations of various silicone products and applications for seven different industries. She has four United State Patents.

In 2011, Amy broadened her research skills and joined CCA as a coordinator. Now, as a clinical research coordinator, she enjoys working with our medical leaders on innovative medical breakthroughs.

Christine Leeper is a Clinical Research Coordinator in our Burdett office.

Chris started her career in the emergency room at Albany Medical Hospital. Along with her position as a patient care associate and educator, Chris was also a supervisor for a Local Commerical Ambulance Service. Chris joined CCA as a medical assistant, in 2005. Her past experiences as well as her on the job education helped springboard her knowledge base to enter clinical research field. In 2008, Chris was offered the position as clinical research coordinator.

Chris, a current nursing student, brings a variety of medical experience into every avenue of clinical research at CCA.

Tammy Ferraioli is a Clinical Research Coordinator in our Burdett office.

Tammy has worked for Capital Cardiology Associates for eight years. She previously worked at St. Marys hospital in the Coronary and Intensive Care Units. She came to CCA in 1994 and in November 2011 joined the Clinical Research team.