Craig L. Bennett

Biography

Craig L. Bennett, Ph.D., is Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, Irvine, where he serves as Drug Development Manager for the UC Irvine Center for Neurotherapeutics. Bennett received his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from The University of Sydney in 1998. His research career has focused on molecular genetics, genomics, and cell biology, with particular emphasis on inherited nervous system disorders and motor neuron disease. He has authored approximately 50 scientific publications and serves on scientific review panels for neurodegenerative disease research for the NIH, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the Department of Defense.

Bennett's research has concentrated on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related neurodegenerative disorders. His work has examined senataxin mutations in ALS4, a juvenile-onset form of familial ALS, and explored how these mutations affect RNA processing and motor neuron survival. He has developed mouse models to study ALS4 pathology and investigated the role of environmental factors, including the neurotoxin BMAA, in sporadic motor neuron disease. His research has demonstrated that senataxin mutations elicit motor neuron degeneration phenotypes and yield TDP-43 mislocalization in both mouse models and human patients.

Bennett has held faculty positions at multiple institutions, including Duke University, UC San Diego, James Cook University, and the University of Lincoln. He received a Muscular Dystrophy Association Research Development Fellowship from 1998 to 2001 and has served as principal investigator on numerous grants from the NIH, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and other funding agencies. He has served as external examiner for multiple doctoral and master's theses in ALS genetics and has mentored postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and medical students throughout his career.

Education

• B.Sc. in Biology, Macquarie University, 1990
• B.Sc.(Hons) 1st class in Molecular Biology, The University of Sydney, 1993
• Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics, The University of Sydney, 1998
• Grad.Dip.Edu in Science Education, Monash University, 2009

Distinctions

• Faculty1000 post-publication review: Travel Award (Genomics & Genetics), 2013
• Muscular Dystrophy Association Research Development Fellowship, 1998-2001
• Australian Postgraduate Research Award, 1994-1997