Wendy A. Henderson, PhD, CRNP, is the Gail and Ralph Reynolds President’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania (2024) and a Professor of Biobehavioral Health Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. Henderson is a nurse and certified registered nurse practitioner with a subspecialty in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition.
After completing postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she focused on immuno-genetic mechanisms in digestive and liver diseases, Dr. Henderson was appointed Assistant Clinical Investigator and later joined the NIH Division of Intramural Research faculty in 2011. She served for 10 years as a clinical investigator and lab chief at NIH. She also founded a Clinical and Translational Postdoctoral Program within the NIH Intramural Program, and served on the Women Scientist Advisors Committee and the Intramural Program of Research on Women’s Health Steering Committee. In addition, she served as NIH liaison for the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and as a pediatric gastrointestinal clinical consultant at the NIH Clinical Center.
Dr. Henderson’s research focuses on the brain-gut-liver microbiota axis and the chronic effects of stress on intestinal health across the lifespan. Her work is nationally and internationally recognized, and she is an inventor on multiple patents and licensed technologies. She has received many honors throughout her career, including the 2018 American Gastroenterological Association Future Leader Award and NIH/NINR Director’s Awards for Diversity (2019), Leadership (2014), and Innovation (2010). She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Dr. Henderson earned her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was also a Clinical and Translational Science Institute Fellow.