Jeanette M. Bennett, PhD
Entering college, I planned on becoming a MD – even conditionally accepted into medical school. However, through my then minor in psychology, I found my passion: psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) and stress. I decided to double major in biology & psychology and set course for a career in research. Before applying to graduate programs, I developed my skills in both academia- and industry-based research environments. In Fall 2005, I began training with Laura Cousino Klein, PhD at Penn State and earned my MS (2007) and PhD (2010) in Biobehavioral Health. During my postdoctoral fellowship, I worked under the tutelage of Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD in the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. Although I enjoy conducting research, I also learned that I love to teach and sought a research/teaching professorship.
In August 2012, I joined UNC Charlotte as an assistant tenure track professor and created StressWAVES BRL. In addition, I laid the groundwork for the Psychological Science’s first BSL-2 data collection space, the BioBehavioral Core Lab. In July 2018, I was promoted to associate professor with tenure.
The underlying concept driving my research lab is that variability in physiological systems drives behavior and ultimately promotes health, both physical and mental. We focus on individual differences or factors that influence the functional variability within the bidirectional neuroendocrine-immune communication or stress/arousal response. A flexible stress/arousal response increases survival, health, and leads to successful maintenance of balance or homeostasis. Unfortunately, loss of flexibility results in dysregulated biological process, reduced efficiency, diminished health, and accelerated aging.
This communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems can be influenced by psychological (e.g., stress, depression), biological (e.g., sex, drug use, age), and psychosocial (e.g., socioeconomic status, social support) factors which ultimately affect overall health. We seek to understand the antecedents or the factors that contribution to chronic disease development. Specifically, we study the effects of stress (psychological, social, and pharmacological) and stressful life events on neuroendocrine and immune system functioning and ways to improve communication between the two systems across the lifespan in healthy and clinical populations.
Graduate Research Assistants
Maria G. Alessi, BS, BS
Maria Grace Alessi joined the lab in August 2018 as a clinically focused graduate student in the Health Psychology PhD Program. In 2015, she earned her BS in psychology and BS in neuroscience with a minor in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests focus on understanding the mind-body connection in the context of comorbid mental and physical illnesses. More specifically, she is interested in how psychological practices such as mindfulness and self-compassion modulate physiological stress responses (i.e. autonomic nervous system, HPA axis activation) that drive and maintain comorbid chronic illnesses across the lifespan, such as depression and hypertension. Additionally, Maria is broadly interested in clinical applications of psychoneuroimmunology to target chronic inflammation and other manifestations of dysregulated stress systems in the treatment of comorbid disorders. Methodological methods utilized in her research include analysis of heart rate variability at rest and during a lab-induced stressor. In her free time, Maria loves to practice yoga, be outdoors, and meet new friends!
Ameante Payen, MA, BS
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Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Post-Bac Research Assistants
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