Joseph N. Benoit was appointed Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology & Therapeutics on August 15, 2001.  A native of south central Louisiana (Opelousas), Benoit holds a Bachelors Degrees in Biology & Chemistry from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, a Bachelors Degree in Basic Medical Science from the University of South Alabama and a Ph.D. in Basic Medical Science with an emphasis in Physiology from the University of South Alabama.  A postdoctoral fellowship in microvascular physiology was completed at Texas A&M University.  He has also studied at the Wood’s Hole Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA) and the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME).   Dr. Benoit has served on faculty at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center at Shreveport (1987-95), and the University of South Alabama (1995-2001) where he attained the rank of Professor.  During his tenure at L.S.U. he held an adjunct appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University.  He also served as the Director of the Graduate Program in Basic Medical Sciences while at the University of South Alabama. 

Dr. Benoit’s research interests center on cardiovascular consequences of chronic portal hypertension, the pathophysiology of arterial hypertension and the role of the lymphatic system in the prevention of interstitial edema.   He has published over 200 research related papers, chapters and abstracts.  His research programs have been funded by the National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association along with several other foundations and contracts.  To date, he has served as the research supervisor forty-nine undergraduate & graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scholars.