Joan W. Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Bennett in 2009 | |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago (PhD),Upsala College (BS) |
| Known for | Mycotoxin biosynthesis, fungalVOCs, women in science advocacy |
| Awards | National Academy of Sciences (2005),American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2021), Distinguished Mycologist (2024),Carski Teaching Award (1999) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mycology,Fungal genetics |
| Institutions | Tulane University,Rutgers University |
Joan Wennstrom Bennett is an American fungal geneticist, recognized for her pioneering research onmycotoxins and fungalvolatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as for her leadership in promoting gender equity in science. She is aDistinguished Professor ofBiochemistry andMicrobiology atRutgers University and a member of theNational Academy of Sciences.
Bennett earned her B.S. in Biology and History fromUpsala College in 1963. She completed her M.S. (1964) and Ph.D. (1967) inBotany at theUniversity of Chicago, where she was a U.S. Public Health Service Trainee inGenetics.
From 1971 to 2006, Bennett was a faculty member atTulane University inNew Orleans, where she taughtgenetics at all levels and was repeatedly honored for her teaching. In 2006, followingHurricane Katrina, she joinedRutgers University, initially as Associate Vice President to establish the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. She has since served asDistinguished Professor, first in the Department ofPlant Biology and currently served in the Department ofBiochemistry andMicrobiology.
Bennett's early research focused on the genetics and biosynthesis ofmycotoxins in species such asAspergillus flavus andA. parasiticus. After Hurricane Katrina, she shifted her research to study fungalVOCs—low molecular weight compounds that contribute tomold odors and may affectindoor air quality and health.
Her lab at Rutgers developed genetic model systems to investigate the biological effects of VOCs, demonstrating, for instance, that1-octen-3-ol ("mushroom alcohol") is the neurotoxic inDrosophila melanogaster and can inhibit plant and the fungal growth. She has also shown that VOCs fromTrichoderma can enhance growth inArabidopsis andtomato plants. Her work helped shape theNational Academies' agenda on indoor microbiology, and she chaired its consensus study onMicrobiomes of the Built Environment in 2017.
Throughout her career, Bennett has been an advocate forwomen and minorities in science. She served as Chair of theNational Academies Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine from 2018 to 2021. At Rutgers, she led the institutional efforts to promote gender equity in STEM fields and has continued to speak and write on the topic nationally and internationally.
Bennett has served as the president of both theAmerican Society for Microbiology (1990–91) and theSociety for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (2001–02). She has been a visiting scholar at institutions includingLeiden University and theUSDA’s Southern Regional Research Center. She has consulted for industry and government and has served on the numerous editorial boards, including as editor-in-chief ofMycologia and co-editor-in-chief ofAdvances in Applied Microbiology.
Bennett is married to David Lorenz Peterson, a computer systems consultant. She is the mother of three sons: John Frank Bennett, Daniel Edgerton Bennett and Mark Bradford Bennett.