Biography
Joan Wennstrom Bennett re-joined the Tulane faculty during the summer of 2025, after having spent 19 years at Rutgers University. The Bennett laboratory studies the genetics and physiology of filamentous fungi. In addition to mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites, research focuses on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by fungi. These low molecular weight compounds are responsible for the familiar odors associated with the molds and mushrooms. Some VOCs function as semiochemicals for insects while others serve as developmental signals for fungi. The Bennett lab has pioneered the use of genetic model systems such as Arabidopsis, Drosophila and Saccharomyces to study the physiological impact of fungal VOCs.
Dr. Bennett was Associate Vice President for the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Rutgers from 2006–2014 and is currently a professor emerita of the Rutgers Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology. She is a past Editor-in-Chief of Mycologia; past Vice President of the British Mycological Society and the International Union of Microbiological Societies; as well as past President of the American Society for Microbiology and the Society for Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021.
