17 Apr Meet Monell: Nancy Rawson on Advancing Sensory Science

Nancy Rawson didn’t begin her career planning to lead a scientific institute. But a series of decisions guided by curiosity and a willingness to take chances eventually brought her back to a place she now considers home: the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Today, Rawson serves as the Executive Vice President at Monell Chemical Senses Center, where she focuses not only on advancing chemosensory research, but also on supporting the next generation of scientists. A large part of her work involves mentoring young researchers and helping them prepare for careers that extend beyond traditional academic paths.

“I do a lot of mentoring,” Rawson says. “And I’m particularly excited about a new NIH-funded program we’re starting that will train scientists in the skills they would need to go into entrepreneurial pursuits or business science.”

Rawson earned her Masters degree in nutrition and spent several years at The Campbell’s Company managing research projects with Monell and several universities. But over time she found herself drawn to the scientific process itself, wanting not just to support research, but to conduct it firsthand.

“I realized I wanted to be on the other side,” Rawson says. “I wanted to be doing some of the research.”

That realization led her to pursue her PhD and eventually to Monell, where she conducted pre- and postdoctoral research in the early 1990s. “It was the mentorship of Mark Friedman and the support of a training grant and the Monell environment that allowed me to realize that I could pursue my dream of getting a PhD,” she says.

At Monell, Rawson found a research environment that encouraged curiosity across disciplines. Her work touched on areas ranging from animal studies to human research and cellular biology.

The questions that drove her research were simple but profound: Why do we like what we like? Why do we eat what we eat? And why do we sometimes eat too much, or not enough?

“What I loved the most was that it touched on many areas of nutrition and sensory science,” she explains. “Every day was a new discovery.” Over time, Rawson became broadly trained in multiple scientific areas, studying both taste and smell at a time when the two senses were often explored separately.

Her career later expanded beyond academia into industry and entrepreneurship. She worked as chief science officer of a startup and later joined AFB International, a company focused on pet food ingredients. Eventually, an opportunity brought her back to Monell in 2016, this time in a leadership role.

“Monell is so much more than a workplace,” Rawson says. “It really is a professional home”

To Rawson, what makes Monell unique is its collaborative environment. Scientists from many disciplines: chemistry, biology, psychology, genetics, and more work closely together under one roof.

“One of our superpowers is the diversity of disciplines within a single building,” Rawson says. “Everybody knows each other, and we have incredible conversations in the hallway or at the coffee pot where new ideas get generated.”

While taste and smell might seem like niche research areas, Rawson emphasizes that they play critical roles in human health. These senses help us detect food, recognize danger, and connect with memories. Losing them can affect everything from nutrition to emotional well-being.

“Our sense of smell is the sense most directly tied to our memory,” she says. “It’s incredibly powerful.”

Researchers at Monell are also exploring how smell may help detect disease earlier, how taste influences nutrition, and how chemical signals inside the body affect the immune system. Many of these discoveries begin with basic science, research that builds the foundation for future breakthroughs.

“You can’t build a house without a foundation,” Rawson explains. “You have to start from the basis and build up gradually.”

For Rawson, that work ultimately serves a simple goal: to inspire, empower and make a positive difference in the world. And for the scientists who walk through its doors, Monell often becomes more than just a workplace. It becomes a home.