David Bennett

Email

bennettd@ualberta.ca

Phone

(780) 492-1516

Address

Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. 526 Heritage Medical Research Centre

11207 - 87 Ave NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2S2

Education

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D. (Neuroscience), June 1990
• McGill University, Honours B.Eng. (Electrical Engineering), May 1984

Academic and Research Experience

• 2004 - present: Professor, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institutue (NMHI), Rehab. Medicine, Univ. of Alberta
• 1996 - 2014: Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Scientist.
• 2009, 2004: Barbara Turnbull Award for Spinal Cord Research (CIHR, NeuroScience Canada). 
• 2001- 2004: Associate Professor, Centre for Neuroscience, Rehab. Medicine, Univ. of Alberta
• 1996-2001: Assistant Professor, Division of Neuroscience, Rehab. Medicine, Univ. of Alberta
• 1996-present: Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta
• 1994-95: Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurophysiology, University of Copenhagen with Dr. H. Hultborn
• 1992-94: Postdoctoral Fellow, Physiology, University of Alberta with Drs. R.B. Stein and A. Prochazka
• 1990-92: Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Drs. E. Bizzi and C. Atkeson

Dr. Bennett’s laboratory examines the spinal cord after injury, with the objective of trying to understand and enhance recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury. Using humans and animal models of spinal cord injury, his group examines changes in channels and receptors in neurons that control muscles below the injury, and examines optogenetic and pharmacological methods to compensate for loss of injured neurons and connections. The results are directly applicable to promoting recovery of walking function and treatment of unwanted spasticity in humans after spinal cord injury.