Professor Named One of 10 “Must Take Psychology Professors” in Charlotte

UNC Charlotte’s Jeanette M. Bennett has been named one of the 10 Must Take Psychology Professors in Charlotte by the online site Careers in Psychology.

“Educating the next generation of leaders and scientists has always been one of my primary goals,” Bennett says. “My classroom provides an environment that is open to questions and a safe place to process new student ideas. An ideal course is one that students will find intellectually stimulating, yet meaningful and practical regarding their particular career goals and their lives. My intention is that my love for what I teach will be contagious, and will encourage students to explore their interests in greater detail after they leave my classroom – to become an eternal student who never stops learning throughout life.”

Bennett is known as a personable professor who is passionate about biopsychology and gives on-point feedback on assignments. She earned her doctoral degree in Biobehavioral Health in 2010 and her master’s degree in Biobehavioral Health in 2007, both from The Pennsylvania State University.

She joined the faculty at UNC Charlotte in 2012 as an assistant professor in psychology. She founded StressWAVES Biobehavioral Research Lab, studying the effects of stress – psychological and pharmacological – on neuroendocrine and immune systems and ways to improve communication between the two systems across the lifespan in healthy and clinical populations. She considers how factors such as stress, depression, drug use, age and social support can affect overall health.

“Broadly, the underlying concept driving my research is that bidirectional neuroendocrine-immune communication occurs constantly to increase survival and maintain balance or homeostasis,” she says. In acknowledgement of her focus on collaboration and biomedical research, she won recognition in 2014 from the UNC Charlotte Health Academy with its Junior Investigator Award.

“We picked out a small handful of psychology professors in Charlotte who deserve, at the very least, to receive a public pat on the back for not only their research contributions to the schools but also for their real-life contributions to their students,” organizers of the Careers in Psychology site say. The site indicates it receives over 500,000 visits a month and serves as a psychology career and education media outlet for those searching for information about careers in psychology.