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Newly discovered chemical-sensing cells in the gums protect the mouth by standing guard against infections that damage soft tissue and destroy the bone that supports the teeth. With the help of bitter taste receptors that also detect byproducts from harmful bacteria, these special gum cells trigger the immune system to control the amount and type of bacteria in the mouth and could one day lead to personalized dental treatments against gum disease.

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PHILADELPHIA (July 22, 2019) -- Nancy E. Rawson, PhD, has been appointed Vice President of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, effective immediately. A highly accomplished scientist and leader, Rawson will work closely with Monell Director and President Robert Margolskee, MD, PhD, on implementing a new strategic plan to guide Monell’s future.

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New research from the Monell Center analyzed nearly 400,000 food reviews posted by Amazon customers to gain real-world insight into the food choices that people make. The findings reveal that many people find the foods in today’s marketplace to be too sweet.

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A new study shows that small changes in a single olfactory receptor gene can affect how strong and pleasant a person finds an odor. The findings expand understanding of how olfactory receptors in the nose encode information about the properties of odors even before that information reaches the brain.

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Scientists from the Monell Center report that functional olfactory receptors are present in human taste cells. The findings suggest that interactions between the senses of smell and taste, the primary components of food flavor, may begin on the tongue and not in the brain, as previously thought.

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Scientists have used a combination of mathematical modeling, electrophysiology, and computer simulations to explain how cells communicate effectively in highly constricted spaces such as the olfactory cilia. The findings will inform future studies of cellular signaling in the olfactory system and other confined spaces of the nervous system.

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The Monell Center and Thomas Jefferson University announce the funding of five collaborative pilot grants for projects that combine Monell’s research on the senses of taste and smell with Jefferson’s complementary strengths in the basic and clinical neurosciences.

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Patient talks will inform scientists and clinicians on etiology and impact

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Research from the Monell Center extends the scope and significance of personal odors as a source of information about an individual’s health. A new paper reveals that the bodily odors of otherwise healthy animals sharing an environment with sick animals become like the odors of the sick animals.

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New research from the Monell Center suggests that a little-understood sensory cell may protect the vulnerable olfactory epithelium by detecting and initiating defenses against viruses, bacteria, and other potentially harmful invaders.

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A new collaboration grant to Discovery BioMed and the Monell Center will support development of next-generation screening technologies to identify bitter taste blockers. The work will advance health by improving the taste and acceptability of nutritious plant-based foods and increasing patient willingness to take life-saving oral medicines.

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The Monell Center and Jefferson (Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University) announce the signing of a one-year Agreement of Cooperation, outlining how the two institutions will collaborate over the next year to develop joint scientific programs and clinical opportunities to advance their shared mission of improving human health.

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By educating physicians about unique properties of the olfactory system, Monell scientist Pamela Dalton, PhD, MPH, seeks to increase understanding of stigmas associated with incontinence

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The Monell Center, in partnership with the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste and the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, will host an interdisciplinary two-day conference in November 2018 to establish a roadmap for treatment-focused research on smell and taste disorders. The “Identifying Treatments for Taste and Smell Disorders” meeting will include sessions focused on the science of sensory disorders and their treatment and also on patient education.

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Lee O’Neill, MBA, has been appointed as the new Director for Finance & Administrative Services for the Monell Chemical Senses Center, effective May 1, 2018. He succeeds John K.T. Tran, MS, CRA, who is retiring after serving 30 years as Monell’s Finance Director.

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February 27 is Anosmia Awareness Day. Many people don’t appreciate what it means to be unable to smell. As someone with congenital anosmia, I know first-hand what it feels like to go through each day without the sense of smell.

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Research from the Monell Center documented wide individual differences to the taste of the life-saving HIV medication Kaletra and identified genetic sources of the taste variation. The findings suggest that the growing field of pharmacogenetics should assess the sensory response to medicines to promote medication compliance and treatment success.

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Leadership at Jefferson and the Monell Center announced today the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to move forward with discussions of merging the two organizations.

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A significant technological advance from the Monell Center now allows scientists to identify the complete set of genes in any type of taste receptor cell. The technology will help identify precisely how each cell carries out its specific function.

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A new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions advances understanding of how stem cells on the tongue grow into the different types of mature taste cells that detect either sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or umami. The findings may someday allow scientists to treat taste disorders, characterize new taste qualities, or even fine-tune a person’s taste perception to encourage healthier eating.

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A new study of older U.S. adults from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions reports that a woman’s social life is associated with how well her sense of smell functions. The study found that older women who do less well on a smell identification task also tend to have fewer social connections.

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A study from the Monell Center and collaborators provides new insight into the causes of trimethylaminura (TMAU), a genetically-transmitted metabolic disorder that leads to accumulation of a chemical that smells like rotting fish. Previously attributed solely to mutations in the FMO3 gene, the study identifies additional genes that may contribute to TMAU. The findings indicate that genetic testing to identify FMO3 mutations may not be sufficient to identify all underlying causes of TMAU.

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A new grant from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation will allow Monell scientists and collaborators to confirm initial findings of a unique odor pattern for ovarian cancer. The multi-disciplinary team will use the information to customize a portable screening device that can diagnose the deadly disease at early, treatable stages.

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New research from the Monell Center reveals that children begin using olfactory information to help guide their responses to emotionally-expressive faces at about age five. The findings advance understanding of how children integrate different types of sensory information to direct their social behavior.

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Does eating good-tasting food make you gain weight? Despite the common perception that good-tasting food is unhealthy and causes obesity, new research from the Monell Center using a mouse model suggests that desirable taste in and of itself does not lead to weight gain.

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The Monell Center announced today that it has received a $345,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant supports an innovative global health research project titled, "Developing Novel Pediatric Formulation Technologies for Global Health: Human Taste Assays."

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New research from the Monell Center finds that oral perceptions of coldness and carbonation help to reduce thirst. The findings could guide sensory approaches to increase fluid intake in populations at risk for dehydration, including the elderly, soldiers, and athletes.

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The leading lay advocate for smell-training, will visit the Monell Center from the U.K. on August 9-11, 2016. During her visit she will present the first U.S. educational smell-training sessions for individuals with impaired smell and the physicians who treat them.

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Nancy E. Rawson, PhD has been appointed Associate Director of the Monell Center, effective immediately. Rawson is a highly accomplished scientific leader with broad-based experience that spans academia and the food, flavor and nutritional products industries.

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Deterioration in a person’s ability to smell can sometimes be an early sign of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. Now, researchers at the Monell Center have established a collaboration with the Brain Health Registry to gain better insight into how changes in a person’s sense of smell may relate to health status and cognitive function.

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A new Monell study reports that sweet taste cells on the tongue also contain digestive enzymes capable of converting sucrose (table sugar) into glucose and fructose, simple sugars that can be detected by both known sweet taste sensing pathways. The findings increase understanding of the complex cellular mechanisms underlying sweet taste detection.

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New research from the Monell Center reveals that olfactory marker protein (OMP), a molecule found in the cells that detect odor molecules, plays a key role in regulating the speed and transmission of odor information to the brain. The findings solve a 30-year-old mystery regarding the function of OMP.

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Danielle R. Reed, PhD, a world-recognized expert on the behavioral genetics of taste, has been named Associate Director of the Monell Center, effective immediately.

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Scientists from the Monell Center have further characterized the identity and functionality of salt-responding taste cells on the tongue. The knowledge may lead to novel approaches to develop salt replacers or enhancers that can help reduce the sodium content of food while retaining desirable salty taste.

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A new study from the Monell Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and collaborating institutions reports a uniquely identifiable odor signature from mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that it may be possible to develop a non-invasive tool for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

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According to new research from the Monell Center, sensitivity to sweet taste varies widely across school-aged children and is in part genetically-determined. The findings may inform efforts to reduce sugar consumption and improve nutritional health of children.

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New research from the Monell Center reveals that while foods such as vanilla pudding taste sweeter following three months on a low-sugar diet, the level of sweetness most preferred in foods and beverages does not change. The findings may inform public health efforts to reduce the amount of added sugars that people consume in their diets.

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New research from the Monell Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggests that physicians may someday be able to use a simple taste test to predict which surgical intervention is best suited to help a subset of chronic rhinosinusitis patients.

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Cats have at least seven functional bitter taste receptors, according to a new Monell Center study. Further, a comparison of cat to related species reveals little relationship between biter receptor number and the extent to which a species consumes plants. The findings question the common hypothesis that bitter taste developed primarily to protect animals from ingesting poisonous plant compounds.

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A new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions suggests that a single set of genes accounts for approximately 30 percent of person-to-person variance in sweet taste perception, regardless of whether the sweetener is a natural sugar or a non-caloric sugar substitute.

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The Monell Center has established a formal partnership with Drexel University to promote education and research on flavor perception and food science. The agreement, which follows years of informal collaboration, leverages the respective strengths of two preeminent Philadelphia institutions.

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New research from the Monell Center reveals that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), an immune system regulatory protein that promotes inflammation, also helps regulate sensitivity to bitter taste. The finding may explain taste abnormalities and decreased food intake associated with infections, autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammatory diseases.

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Two Monell Center scientists have been recognized by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) for their contributions to the understanding of the senses of taste and smell. Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD, the Center’s Director and President, and Joel Mainland, PhD, Louise Slade Assistant Member, will be honored at the upcoming 2015 AChemS Annual Meeting.

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The Monell Center announces a CME Program, FAQ sheet and video to promote Anosmia Awareness Day on February 27. Each was designed to increase awareness and increase the limited information available on anosmia, the loss of our sense of smell, which affects many millions worldwide.

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The Monell Center has received a $1.5M NIH grant to further develop clinical methodology that can predict the path of air flow through a person’s nasal passages. The methodology may someday help physicians predict success taes for surgery to reverse nasal obstruction and associated loss of smell (anosmia).

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The Monell Chemical Senses Center announces $1 million in leadership challenge gifts from Board members Richard L. Berkman, Esq., and Dwight Riskey, PhD. The gifts, made in honor of Monell Director Emeritus Gary Beauchamp, PhD, will support new faculty recruitment in the areas of nutrition, taste, and olfaction.

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The Board of Directors of the Monell Chemical Senses Center has named Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD as the Center’s next President and Director, effective October 1, 2014. Margolskee will be the Center’s third Director since its founding in 1968, succeeding Gary K. Beauchamp, PhD, who has led Monell since July 1990.