PRIM&R Presenter Allyson J. Bennett, PhD

Bio

Professor Allyson J. Bennett is a developmental biopsychologist and Chair of the Psychology Department at UW-Madison. She is the Director of the Harlow Center for Biological Psychology and served for seven years as the Faculty Director of the UW-Madison Animal Program that spans the university’s five colleges. Professor Bennett’s research expertise is in comparative studies of behavioral and neural development, with the overarching objective of advancing scientific insight into factors that result in individual differences in lifespan health. Comparative studies by Bennett and her colleagues have contributed new insights into how interplay between genes and environments affects neurobehavioral development. A complementary aim of Prof. Bennett’s research addresses the need for empirical evidence and decision-making models to inform evolving practices and policy in care and research with animals in a range of captive settings. She has served as Principal Investigator on grants from the National Institutes of Health and has broad experience that includes a range of species-- rats, prosimian primates, monkeys, and chimpanzees— as well as behavioral, physiological, and neuroimaging techniques employed widely in animal research.

A core part of Bennett’s work reflects commitment to engaging in public education and dialogue to improve understanding and protect public interests in humane and ethical scientific research. She has held leadership positions within scientific societies and organizations devoted to animal research policy and has extensive experience and expertise in regulation surrounding animal research. Over the past 10 years she has served as a senior editor and regular blogger for the international animal research advocacy group, Speaking of Research. She is honored to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Scientists Center for Animal Welfare and the Board of Scientific Affairs at the American Psychological Association (APA). She also served as President of the Society of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology. Professor Bennett’s work to advance public education and dialogue about ethics and animal research has been recognized with awards and honors that include the Leadership in Science Advocacy Award from APA, the Charles River Ethics and Animal Welfare Lecturer, and the Synapse Award for Outstanding Neuroscience Outreach. She has given many keynote talks, invited addresses, and panels for national and international scientific and policy organizations, including the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, Scientists Center for Animal Welfare, International Basel Declaration Society Conference, Max Plank Tubingen Mysteries of the Brain Symposium, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Frontiers of Science. As a co-chair of the scientific society coalition, Sharing Truth about Animal Research (STAR), she has given talks at U.S. congressional briefings organized to inform legislators about animal research. Her commitment to public engagement is reflected through media work, including interviews with journalists at Science, Nature, Mother Jones, Chronicle of Higher Education, Buzzfeed, and The Economist, among others.

Committees

PRIM&R Board of Directors
PRIM&R Public Policy Committee