By Jennifer Trachtman, Director of Development, The Monell Center, 
September 14, 2022

It started with a simple question

In the midst of the first year of the pandemic, Dr. Jinggou Chen, an ENT from China, sent an email to Monell Scientist Danielle Reed with a question – was there a day devoted to taste and smell? And if not, why not? Covid had sparked interest in both smell and taste. A dedicated day would pay homage to these interconnected senses and what happens when they are compromised. 

Knowing that I never shy away from a challenge, Dr. Reed shared Dr. Chen’s email with me. I was intrigued and began reaching out quietly to a group of trusted colleagues. Eventually, these quiet conversations turned into a founding committee. This included Michelle Niedziela of HCD, Valentina Parma, then the leader of the Global Consortium of Chemosensory Scientists (GCCR), Mindy Yang of Perfumarie who I had met the month before the pandemic hit, Stephanie Feuer, a writer who suffers from smell dysfunction, my colleague Karen Kreeger from Monell, and GCCR member scientists, Oghogho Braimah, Jingguo Chen, Thomas Hummel, Sachiko Koyama, and Masha Niv. 

We set forth a framework

Together we devoted ourselves to a few founding constructs:

• September 14th was chosen as the day of recognition because there was already an anosmia awareness day in February and we wanted to be at the opposite end of the calendar from that important awareness-building event. 

• We would be deliberately and purposefully global. 

• We would unite the worlds of taste and smell, which are often considered separately in industry and in academia. 

• We were keenly aware of the suffering of the millions who continue to experience taste and smell conditions but were not looking to replicate the work of groups like AbScent, Fifth Sense, and STANA. Where we could, we wanted to trumpet their work - and the proceeds from our first year’s activities were donated to these three groups. 

• We wanted to communicate the work of researchers and clinicians. 

• We wanted to elevate the creators and innovators in the fields of taste and smell.  

And we’re off

We launched World Taste & Smell Day on September 14, 2021, by opening an Exploratorium of Taste and Smell, holding a worldwide opening ceremony, and providing an umbrella for a satellite event in China. It was exhausting and exhilarating to get this effort off the ground! Through the process, I met many new people working in all facets of taste and smell and who were ready to share the wonders of these senses with others. Today and moving forward

Looking back, I was probably naive to think that I could take on the creation of a worldwide day devoted to taste and smell. But, I am thankful to Valentina Parma and the rest of the founding committee for jumping into the possibilities with me. Now I am a proud parent watching as the newfound World Taste and Smell Association develops and grows as its own nonprofit organization and a force in elevating the role that taste and smell play in our lives. This mission, built on the foundation of what the world learned from Covid, is terribly important. We cannot afford to wait until these senses are diminished to appreciate them.

Looking forward, the Monell Center envisions a time when World Taste & Smell Day helps to translate our important science to the world and, we look forward to the role that the Association will play in expanding conversations about taste and smell to new audiences.

Original post.