Jean Bennett

Jean Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., is Director at the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics (CAROT) and Professor Emerita of Ophthalmology for Cell and Developmental Biology at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Bennett is a world-renowned researcher who has contributed to many “firsts” in the development of gene therapies for use in ophthalmology. As a scientific founder of Spark Therapeutics, Dr. Bennett supported the development of the first ever FDA-approved gene therapy, approved for a rare genetic disease of the eye. The teams she led at CAROT and Spark Therapeutics collaborated to translate the use of gene therapy for the reversal of congenital blindness from animal models through to demonstration of safety and efficacy in children and adults. Her team was also the first to enroll pediatric patients into a study for gene therapy for a severe but non-life-threatening disease.

At CAROT, Dr. Bennett continues to develop and advance gene-based therapies for other retinal degenerative diseases and works to address limitations of current gene therapy technologies. She serves as a mentor for scientists and physicians at all career stages, participates on a number of advisory panels, and is an active member of non-profit patient-oriented foundations.

Dr. Bennett joined the faculty at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1992 where she held the F.M. Kirby Chair in Ophthalmology at the Scheie Eye Institute.