
FACULTY
Allyson Bennett
Associate Professor - Research
LSUNO Pharmacology
- (504) 568-3179
- aspen4@lsuhsc.edu
- Medicine
Academic Office:
LSUHSC School of Medicine
Department of Pharmacology
Lions Building Rm 664
533 Bolivar Street
New Orleans, LA 70112-1349
504-568-3179
Bio
Dr. Bennett is a basic science educator and researcher with her primary focus in cardiovascular pharmacology, teaching students the pharmacotherapies of hypertension, arrhythmias, heart failure, and myocardial ischemia. Dr. Bennett also has experience teaching similar cardiovascular pharmacotherapies to medical, graduate, doctor of nursing practice, undergraduate nursing, and physician assistant students. Her prior research as a graduate student included identifying the mechanisms of cardiovascular injury induced by environmental toxicants while identifying novel mechanisms for drug-eluting stents. Thus, this topic, along with neuropharmacology and toxicology, has remained a focus in her teaching endeavors.
Didactic Teacher of the Year Award by the Physician Assistant Students
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
2025
Excellence in Teaching Award by the Aesculapian Society of Medical Students
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
2025
Second-Year Pharmacy Student Teacher of the Year Award
Regis University
2022
First-Year Pharmacy Student Teacher of the Year Award
Regis University
2022
Third-Year Pharmacy Student Teacher of the Year Award
Regis University
2020
Excellence in Teaching Award
Northwestern State University
2019
Education
Ph.D. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Neuroscience - Louisiana State University Health
Shreveport, LA
2016
M.S. Biology with concentration in Cellular and Molecular Biology - Louisiana Tech
University, Ruston, LA
2011
B.S., Biology with concentration in Animal Biology, minor in Chemistry- Louisiana
Tech University, Ruston, LA
2007
Publications
Brooks M, Spence AL, Stratton J. The Secondary Effects and Stigma of the Opioid Epidemic Through the Lens of Healthcare Students. Submitted to Substance Use and Misuse.
Spence AL, Stroup C, Frietas E. Providing an interactive, inclusive team-based learning pedagogy in a hybrid platform. In draft to submit to the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Ly E, Spence AL, Mustafa D, Turpin M, Pham A, Desforges A, Okada L, Busby M, Cornett EM. AT-121:
A bifunctional nociception and mu opioid receptor agonist produces analgesia without
opioid side effects. Submitted to World Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Desforges AD, Hebert CM, Spence AL, Reid B, Dhaibar HA, Cruz-Topete D, Cornett EM, Kaye AD, Urits I, Viswanath O. Treatment
and diagnosis of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: An update. Biomed Pharmacother.
2022;147:112671. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112671
Kaye AD, Spence AL, Mayerle M, Sardana N, Clay CM, Eng MR, Leudi MM, Carroll Turpin MA, Urman RD, Cornett
EM. Impact of COVID-19 infection on the cardiovascular system: An evidence-based analysis
of risk factors and outcomes. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2021;35(3):437-448.
doi:10.1016/j.bpa.2021.02.003
Reid B, Spence AL, Stroup C. A review of the gastrointestinal effects associated with COVID-19 infections.
Annals of Gastroenterology and Digestive System. 2020.
Stroup C, Sayre TJ, Spence AL. New faculty perspectives at a Jesuit institution amidst unprecedented challenges.
Jesuit Higher Education. 2020;9(2):11-15.
Shea LA, Leeds M, Bui D, Muicca M, Poupard M, Rodriguez R, Matura J, Carnazzo A, Spence AL. “Over-the-counter” cannabidiol (CBD) sold in the community pharmacy setting in Colorado.
Drugs & Therapy Perspectives. 2020;36:573-582. doi:10.1007/s40267-020-00781-3
Keller CM, Spence AL, Stevens MW, Owens SM, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. Effects of a methamphetamine vaccine,
IXT-v100, on methamphetamine-related behaviors. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2020;237(3):655-667.
doi:10.1007/s00213-019-05399-6
Sen S, Koyyalamudi V, Smith DD, Weis RA, Molloy M, Spence AL, Kaye AJ, Labrie-Brown CC, Hall OM, Cornett EM, Kaye AD. The role of regional anesthesia
in the propagation of cancer: A comprehensive review. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol.
2019;33(4):507-522.
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. The differential effects of alprazolam and oxazepam on methamphetamine
self-administration in rats. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;166:209-217.
doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.07.015
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. Differential modulation of the discriminative stimulus effects
of methamphetamine and cocaine by alprazolam and oxazepam in male and female rats.
Neuropharmacology. 2016;102:146-157. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.10.041
Yurdagul A Jr, Kleinedler JJ, McInnis MC, Khandelwal AR, Spence AL, Orr AW, Dugas TR. Resveratrol promotes endothelial cell wound healing under laminar
shear stress through an estrogen receptor-α-dependent pathway. Am J Physiol Heart
Circ Physiol. 2014;306(6):H797-H806.
doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00892.2013
Spence AL, Potthoff K, Daigle M, Velarde M, Dao T, Fontem N, Washburn F, Shea LA. Post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD): Pathophysiology and treatment interventions. In prep.
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. The modulation of the reinstatement of methamphetamine-seeking
behavior in rats by alprazolam, oxazepam, and neurosteroids. In prep.
doi:10.1016/j.bpa.2019.07.004
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. Lack of effect of the combination of metyrapone and oxazepam
on conditioned place preference. In prep.
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. The differential effects of alprazolam and oxazepam on methamphetamine-induced
conditioned place preference in male and female rats. In prep.
Spence AL, Guerin GF, Goeders NE. The differential effects of alprazolam and oxazepam on cocaine-induced
conditioned place preference in male and female rats. In prep.
Research
Skills/experiences include:
• Surgical skills, such as implanting rats with indwelling jugular catheters and stereotaxically implanting
rats with guide cannulas
• Behavioral paradigms, such as conditioned place preference, self-administration, drug discrimination,
drug-primed reactivity, in vivo microdialysis, drug-induced reinstatement, cue-induced
reactivity, Morris water maze, and elevated plus maze
• Technical skills, including HPLC, quantitative RT-PCR, structure-activity relationship analysis, agarose
and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and western blots
• Animal models, including rats, mice, zebrafish, and Caenorhabditis elegans
• Cell culture models, such as in vitro wound healing assays
• Scholarship of teaching and learning, including the identification of strategies to provide a more inclusive environment
for diverse student populations