Taste – Flavor – Senses – Brain

I am a psychologist with over 15 years of research experience in academica and industry. 

My research is at the intersection between psychology, neuroscience, and nutrition and focuses on understanding how the human mind processes food. I ask how different senses contribute to the experience of taste, how taste is shaped by experience and external cues, and how we can influence taste and boost acceptance to foster healthy eating behavior. 

My expertise is in linking brain measures with behavior and the development of state-of-the art methods required to study this link.

The loss of smell and of taste occurs often with COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). We brought together experts in the Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR) to study how, when, and why this happens and how we can use this as a screening tool for COVID-19. We are conducting 3 online studies:

• for individuals with COVID-19 or who suspect to have COVID-19 or who have another respiratory illness (~20 min.) 
• for everybody who wants to test their smell & taste in detail once or repeatedly (~30 min.) 
• for everybody who wants to test their smell & taste quickly but regularly (~1 min.) 

2021  IFF Award for Research in the Psychophysics of Human Taste and Smell. AChemS.

2017 DuPont Nutrition & Health Science Excellence Medal. Danisco Foundation.

2017 Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation. AChemS.

2016 Brain Products Young Scientist Award. German Society for Psychophysiology and its Applications.

2013 Leibniz Mentoring for highly-qualified women researchers. Leibniz Association

2013 Polak Young Investigator Award. Association for Chemoreception Sciences.