PhD , Botany and Genetics

Joan W. Bennett is a Professor II in the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology and Associate Vice President of the Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.  She spent most of her academic career at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where she taught genetics and conducted research on the genetics and biosynthesis of aflatoxins, a toxic and carcinogenic family of fungal secondary metabolites.  She is a past vice president of the British Mycological Society; past president of the American Society for Microbiology and the Society for Industrial Microbiology; and a fellow of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (US) in 2005.