Faculty

Frederick Christian Bennett, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Department: Psychiatry

Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information

3501 Civic Center
Rm 6026
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Office: 2157467275

Publications

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Education:
B.S. (Biology, Magna cum Laude)
Haverford College, 2003.
M.D.
Stanford University School of Medicine, 2011.

Links
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Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests: Role of microglia in brain health and disease

Keywords: microglia, glia, macrophages, inflammation, neuroinflammation

Research Summary: Our laboratory studies microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells. These mysterious cells play important roles in brain health and disease, but are poorly understood. We focus primarily on two related questions: 1) What are the environmental signals and intrinsic properties that govern microglial function? 2) How do these signals and properties contribute to brain health and disease? To answer these questions, we have developed tools to transplant microglia and other macrophages (including from humans) into the rodent brain, allowing dissection of environmental versus cell intrinsic factors controlling microglial function in health and disease. In parallel, we are adopting brain macrophage transplantation for therapeutic use.

Personal lab webpage: www.fcblab.org

Rotation Projects: We attempt to design rotation projects customized to the lab's current trajectory and student interest. Please feel welcome to contact Dr. Bennett by email to discuss current project opportunities.

Selected Publications

Lombroso SI, Church EI, Anderson RN, OBrien CA, Zhu Y, Dar AA, Purnell FS, Levitt EM, Temsamrit B, Yaqoob F, Aisenberg WH, Davis M, Elfayoumi B, Chaluvadi S, Nemec KM, Axsom J, Shapiro DA, Oon CH, Chadarevian JP, Assenmacher CA, De Arcangeli S, Bannerjee E, Shukla S, Davtyan H, Bailis W, Hunter CA, Blurton-Jones M, Bennett ML, Haney MS, Bennett FC: Microglia replacement by peripheral delivery of CSF1R inhibitor-resistant hematopoietic cells. Molecular Therapy 34: 850-866, Feb 2026.

Chadarevian JP, Nguyen J, Le L, Ayala LA, Chadarevian AL, Zhou C, Escobar A, Do AT, Deynega E, Mansour K, Hasselmann J, Eskandari-Sedighi G, Lombroso SI, Bennett FC, Inlay MA, Davtyan H, Blurton-Jones M.: CSF1R inhibitor-resistant model for CNS-wide microglia replacement strategies. Mol Ther 34: 832-849, Feb 2026.

McKinney JE, Bennett ML, Bennett FC.: Basic Microglial Functions and How They Go Awry in Neurodegenerative Disease. Annu Rev Pathol Jan 2026.

Delcy SAS, Farrugia A, Diaz Nieves IA, O'Brien CA, Bennett FC, Cohen AS.: Microglia depletion improves hippocampal circuit function after mild traumatic brain injury in male mice. Brain Behav Immun Jan 2026.

Axsom J, Bennett FC.: Primitive macrophages take a road less traveled. Immunity 59: 2-4, Jan 2026.

Schafer DP, Stevens B, Bennett ML, Bennett FC.: Role of Microglia in Central Nervous System Development and Plasticity. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 17: a041810, Oct 2025.

O'Brien CA, Delcy SAS, Shukla S, Levitt EM, Cohen AS, Bennett ML, Bennett FC.: Neonatal microglia replacement in mice modulates seizure severity in adulthood. Mol Ther Aug 2025.

Ortega-Burgos Y, Dar AA, Tomishima SA, Guha I, Brien CO, Porter N, Bennett FC, Oliver PM.: Loss of Cullin 5 in myeloid cells protects against autoimmune neuroinflammation. Front Immunol 16: 1611818, Aug 2025.

Sukhina A, Queriault C, Roy S, Hall E, Rome K, Aggarwal M, Nunn E, Weiss A, Nguyen J, Bennett FC, Bailis W.: Malnutrition drives infection susceptibility and dysregulated myelopoiesis that persists after refeeding intervention. Elife 13: RP101670, Jul 2025.

Axsom J, Bennett FC.: A microglia identity crisis. Neuron 113: 1661-1663, Jun 2025 Notes: Invited news and view for: Cell. 2025 Apr 17;188(8):2159-2174.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.007. PMID: 40199320.