Research Lab: 239 Propst Hall

A native of Chattanooga, Brad Bennett has always been fascinated with the living world and how things work. As an undergraduate at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC), he followed a path that would lead him to pursue field biology and plant taxonomy. He even served as an intern for the Tennesee River Gorge Trust, helping to catalog plant species in the gorge. As a senior, however, he decided to enroll in a biochemistry course taught by Dr. Thomas Waddell; this changed his path from organismal/ecological to molecular/cellular as now he became fascinated with understanding life at the smallest level. With Dr. Maurice Edwards as a mentor, he also performed plant physiology research, studying germination behavior of Phytolacca americana (American Pokeweed). These two experiences with two exceptional scientists catalyzed Brad’s entrance into basic science research as a career. After graduating from UTC, he went on to earn his PhD in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, under the mentorship of Dr. Chris Dealwis. Here, he learned how molecular structures of proteins were determined, performed enzyme kinetic assays, and helped design new antibiotic lead compounds. After a brief stint as a postdoctoral scholar at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, he joined Dr. Mark Yeager’s lab at the University of Virginia, where he learned electron microscopy and worked with important human membrane proteins.