“I am interested in why people differ in their sense of taste and smell and how inborn genotype contributes to these differences. For instance, there are medicines that taste extremely bitter to some people whereas others perceive them as tasteless or nearly so. These differences are due in part to genetic variation in the bitter taste receptor genes and these genotype differences can differ based on ancestry.

In related work, I am curious why different SARS-Cov-2 variants differentially affect taste and smell, and we hope to develop methods to study this question.

I also join my colleagues in my interest in universal smell testing, developing easy and inexpensive tests suitable for screening for taste and smell loss as a routine part of medical care.”

Education

Ph.D., Psychology; Yale University