Joan W. Bennett

Joan W. Bennett (born 1942) is a prominent mycologist, fungal geneticist and Associate Vice-President for Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics at Rutgers University. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Bennett began her academic career at Tulane University in 1971 where she was the first woman hired in the Biology Department. Dr. Bennett studies the genetics of mycotoxin production in the genus Aspergillus. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi, which are capable of causing disease and death in humans and other vertebrate animals. Because of their pharmacological activity, some mycotoxins or mycotoxin derivatives are used as antibiotics, growth promotants, and other...