14 Nov Comparative Physiologist and Neuroscientist Neeraj Lal, PhD, Joins the Monell Chemical Senses Center
For immediate release
Contact: Karen Kreeger, kkreeger@monell.org
PHILADELPHIA (November 14, 2025) – The Monell Chemical Senses Center welcomes Neeraj Lal, PhD, as its newest faculty member. Lal joins Monell from the Salk Institute in San Diego and the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska. A comparative physiologist and neuroscientist, he studies how animals adapt to extreme environments to uncover the biological links between metabolism, sensation, and health. By combining biochemistry, systems neuroscience, and AI-guided data tools, his work reveals how the brain and body communicate to maintain energy balance, providing new insight into chronic diseases and sensory function.
“Neeraj’s research brings a powerful comparative perspective that will deepen our understanding of sensory biology,” said Benjamin P.C. Smith, PhD, Monell’s Executive Director and President. “By studying how different species sense and adapt to changing environments, his work will help reveal the shared biological mechanisms that connect metabolism, perception, and health.”
Neeraj Lal, PhD
In a 2023 publication in Nature, Lal described a novel brain region essential for cold-induced, food-seeking behavior in mice. The discovery provided new insight into neural circuits governing context-specific feeding behavior and challenged long-held ideas about how the brain controls appetite. Understanding these circuits offers fresh clues to the molecular basis of metabolic and sensory disorders—an area Lal is particularly passionate about.
Drawing on his interdisciplinary training, Lal’s research spans biochemistry, neuroscience, AI, and field studies with Arctic organisms rarely used in sensory research. “With generous support from the Branco Weiss Society in Science and the Monell Chemical Senses Center, I’m building an inclusive, multidisciplinary program where biologists, computer scientists, and engineers work together to decode the biological principles that shape perception, metabolism, and resilience,” he said.
Lal has received numerous honors, including the Branco Weiss Fellowship from ETH Zurich; the Eric and Wendy Artificial Intelligence in Science Fellowship; the Dorris Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowship; an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship; the Monsanto Agriculture Biotechnology Award; the Dean’s Mentorship Award, College of Biological Science, University of California, Davis; and the Walter R. and Rosalinde H. Russell Outstanding Graduate Student Fellowship, among others.
A dedicated mentor, Lal has guided 28 undergraduate and high school students during his graduate and postdoctoral training.
He earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Davis, and completed postdoctoral positions at Scripps Research, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Salk Institute, and the Institute of Arctic Biology.
###
About Monell Chemical Senses Center
The Monell Chemical Senses Center is an independent nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1968 to advance and share discoveries in the science of the chemical senses of smell, taste, chemesthesis, and interoception to solve the world’s health, societal, and environmental challenges.