Newswise — Philadelphia, PA (April 17, 2024) - Over 20 scientists from the Monell Chemical Senses Center will present their latest research at the 46th Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) annual conference, which covers the latest advances in the fields of taste, smell, and related chemical senses. Overall, AChemS attendees include about 340 scientists, clinicians, and industry members, who will be able to view 184 posters and 62 talks. Within those offerings Monell is chairing and participating in several oral presentation sessions (see below for highlights) as well as sharing over 20 posters among five poster sessions. 

For a full program of conference events, please visit here. For a complete listing of talks and posters by Monell Center presenters and authors, please visit here

Monell Oral Sessions

Thursday April 18, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Chemosensory Perception And Eating Behavior: From Inborn Variation Through Gut-Brain Circuits To Covid-19Organizers: Danielle Reed1, Joanne Cole21Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2University of Colorado School of Medicine , Aurora, CO, United StatesThis symposium will cover several mechanisms underlying "sensory nutrition" and how chemical sensing in the body, including from the nose, tongue, brain, and gut, affects food intake.
10:45am Influence Of Common Missense Variants In Chemosensory Receptor Genes On Food PreferencesDanielle Reed1, Liang-Dar Hwang2, Cailu Lin1, Paule Joseph31Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 3Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism & National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD, United States
11:10 am Gut Influences On Central Feeding CircuitsAmber L Alhadeff, Monell CenterFood intake is regulated by complex biological processes involving sensory food properties, gut nutrient sensing, and the brain. Scientists are learning more about how these processes interact to control feeding behavior, as well as how this information guides food preference and intake.

Friday, April 19, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
The Great Debate: The role of artificial intelligence in olfaction
Recent advances in statistical learning, machine intelligence, chemoinformatics, and psychophysics appear to be bringing us closer to a holy grail of chemical biology: to be able to predict what a molecule will smell like based upon its structure alone. We will engage in a vigorous open debate to render clear where these approaches stand now and what progress we can reasonably expect in the future.

Monell participant: Joel Mainland 

Friday, April 19, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Polak Awards Lectures, Monell Center recipient Federica Genovese

7:00 pm: The Role Of Trigeminal Activation In Perceived Odor Intensity
Aiden Streleckis, Robert Pellegrino, Matthew Andres, Johannes Reisert, Joel Mainland, Federica Genovese, Monell Center
Most volatile compounds entering the nasal cavity activate both olfactory sensory neurons and chemosensory trigeminal fibers, leading to olfactory and somatosensory (irritation) sensations. These systems interact at the peripheral and central levels, leading to a change in perceived intensity. Established odor intensity models do not predict this interaction. In summary, a trigeminal agonist modifies both neural and perceptual responses, and models of odor intensity need to account for this interaction.

Saturday, April 20, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Olfaction And Taste: Biomarkers For Health

10:00 am: Olfaction And Taste: Biomarkers For Health
Valentina Parma1, Katie Boateng2, Nancy Rawson1
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2Smell and Taste Association of North America, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Based on a recent survey of more than 6,000 patients and caregivers led by the Smell and Taste Association of North America, the Monell Center, and Thomas Jefferson University, most respondents reported significant difficulties in having their disorder recognized, receiving a diagnosis, or receiving adequate support. We will explore how chemosensory testing can be utilized in various aspects of health and functioning to identify specific patient subpopulations, provide early diagnosis, and monitor treatment outcomes.

Saturday, April 20th 1:00 pm - 3:00pm
Industry Session: Nutrient Sensing, Learning, and RewardChairs:  Kathryn Deibler (Haleon) and Linda Flammer (Monell Center)

1:27 pm: Evidence That Human Oral Glucose Detection Involves A Sweet Taste Pathway And A Glucose Transporter PathwayLinda Flammer, Monell Center

The taste stimulus glucose comprises approximately half of the commercial sugar sweeteners used today, whether in the form of the di-saccharide sucrose (glucose-fructose) or half of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Our results support the idea that oral detection of glucose engages two signaling pathways: one that is composed of the T1R2/T1R3 sweet taste receptor and the other that utilizes an SGLT glucose transporter.

1:45 pm: Brain networks underlying hunger and reinforcement
Sam Bacharach, Monell Center

The act of eating is driven by distinct networks in the brain, which signal to an animal both its need for calories and nutrients to maintain homeostasis and its desire for food that provides sensory pleasure. The goal is to understand the neural mechanisms by which hunger-sensing networks communicate with reward and reinforcement networks in the brain to guide feeding behavior. 

Saturday, April 20, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Clinical impact of damage to chemosensory pathways (Taste loss, trigeminal nerve damage, help from odorants)
Chair Robert Pellegrino, Monell Center

Saturday, April 20, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
President’s Symposium: Regenerative Medicine and the Senses

7:00 pm: Regenerative Medicine and the Senses
Paul Breslin, Rutgers University, Monell Chemical Senses Center, outgoing AChemS president

Humans have very few regenerative tissues and organs. These are tissues that when removed or severely damaged can regenerate completely with full function and without scarring. We hope that the spontaneously regenerative chemosensory tissues in humans will inspire work on non-regenerative human tissues.

7:30 pm: Inflammatory Cytokines in Taste Loss and Regeneration
Hong Wang, Monell Chemical Senses Center

The peripheral taste tissue is robust in its ability to renew throughout the lifespan, and yet persistent taste loss can still occur under some conditions such as post-viral infection and certain recurring autoimmune diseases. Our data from an in vitro organoid model showed that certain cytokines associated with immune responses could promote taste receptor cell regeneration or differentiation, suggesting that such cytokines may have therapeutic potential for treating taste loss.

HOT TOPICS:
Monell talks/posters by research theme

Biology of Bitter Blockers

Poster #242, Poster Session III, Friday, April 19, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Modulation of Pharmaceutical Taste Aversiveness In Drosophila MelanogasterPaul Breslin1,2, Natasha Rivers2, Carter Green3 1Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 3Takasago International Corporation (U.S.A.), Rockleigh, NJ, United States

Poster #246, Poster Session III, Friday, April 19, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Palatability Modulation Of Amino Acid-Based Oral Rehydration Therapy In ChildrenCaroline Payton Harmon1, Jennifer M. Manuola1, Amani Hill1, Paul A.S. Breslin1,21Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesPoster

256, Poster Session III, Friday, April 19, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Assessing Recruitment Strategies And Challenges In Studying Racial And Ethnic Variations In Bitter Taste PerceptionPatrice A Hubert1, Ha Nguyen1, Amy Huang1, Paule V Joseph2, Caliu Lin1, May Cheung3, Danielle R Reed1 1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2National Institute of Health, Bethseda, MD, United States, 3Brooklyn College City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, United StatesPoster #253, Poster Session IV,

Friday, April 19, 9:00  pm - 11:00 pm
The Bitter Taste Of Medicines And Their Modifiers In People Of Diverse Ancestries
Ha Nguyen1, Cailu Lin1, Katherine Bell1, Amy Huang1, Mackenzie Hannum1, Vicente Ramirez1, Carol Christensen1, Nancy E. Rawson1, Lauren Colquitt1, Paul Domanico2, Ivona Sasimovich1, Riley Herriman1, Paule Joseph3, Oghogho Braimah4, Danielle R. Reed11Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2Clinton Health Access Initiative, New York, NY, United States, 3National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism & National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda , MD, United States, 4Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester, United Kingdom

Eating Behavior

Thursday, April 18, 10:45am
Influence Of Common Missense Variants In Chemosensory Receptor Genes On Food Preferences (see above also)
Danielle Reed1, Liang-Dar Hwang2, Cailu Lin1, Paule Joseph31Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 2The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 3Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism & National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD, United States

Thursday, April 18, 11:10 am
Gut Influences On Central Feeding Circuits
Amber L Alhadeff, Monell Center

Poster #159, Poster Session II, Thursday, April 18, 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Olfactory Nudging Promotes Short-Term Weight LossVictoria Esparza1, Angela Pfammatter2, Valentina Parma3, Surabhi Bhutani 1San Diego State University , San Diego, CA, United States, 2University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States, 3Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Poster #250, Poster Session III, Friday, April 19, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Don Tucker Finalist: Dietary Habits Can Affect Fat Intake Independent Of Obesity
Nicholas Amado1, Judith Storch1, Paul Breslin1,21Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Smell/Taste Biology & Loss
Poster #264, Poster Session III, Friday, April 18, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Mechanism Of Long Term-Lasting Virus-Induced Olfactory Loss
Akihito Kuboki, Jidong Tan, Katelyn Tu, Cailu Lin, Peihua Jiang, Johannes Reisert, Hong WangMonell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Poster #264, Poster Session III, Friday, April 20, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Mechanism Of Long Term-Lasting Virus-Induced Olfactory Loss
Akihito Kuboki, Jidong Tan, Katelyn Tu, Cailu Lin, Peihua Jiang, Johannes Reisert, Hong Wang
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Poster #318, Poster Session V, Saturday April 20, 8:00 am - 10:00 am
Evaluating The Burden Of Smell Loss On General Health And Well-Being
Vicente Ramirez, Valentina ParmaMonell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Saturday April 20, 7:30 pm
Inflammatory Cytokines In Taste Loss And Regeneration
Hong Wang, Monell Chemical Senses Center

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The Monell Chemical Senses Center is an independent nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Monell was founded in 1968, and its mission is to improve health and well-being by advancing the scientific understanding of taste, smell, and related senses, where our discoveries lead to improving nutritional health, diagnosing and treating disease, addressing smell and taste loss, and digitizing chemosensory data.