23 Apr Monell Center Presentations Span Sensory Science at National Meeting, April 23 to 26, 2025

Media Advisory
Contact: Karen Kreeger, kkreeger@monell.org

PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 23, 2025) – Over 20 scientists from the Monell Chemical Senses Center will present their latest research at the 47th 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 nearly 400 scientists, clinicians, and industry members, who will engage in science through 232 posters and 49 talks. Within those offerings Monell researchers are chairing and participating in oral presentation sessions (see below for highlights) as well as sharing close to 20 posters over three days. Several Monellians will also receive annual awards from AChemS for their research achievements, highlighted below.

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.

Pre-meeting Symposium: Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Chair/Organizer: Valentina Parma and Nancy Rawson, Monell Center

Patients’ primary goal is to find cures for smell and taste dysfunction. Their lived experience is essential to guiding the design and execution of research that accelerates progress in this field. Researchers are equally committed to discovery and implementation science that addresses patient needs, yet they often encounter systemic barriers—many of which remain invisible. As a result, the field still lacks validated, FDA-approved outcome measures for diagnosing smell and taste dysfunction—tools that reflect the patient experience and are practical for use in both clinical and research settings. Without these measures, the timely development and delivery of effective therapeutics remains out of reach. The goal is to map and align efforts across sectors to develop diagnostics and treatments that are not only scientifically sound, but also market-viable and accessible. In doing so, we can transform how chemosensory dysfunction is diagnosed, treated, and ultimately understood.

Highlights of Monell Science at AChemS 2025

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Poster 174

Genes To Glass: Role Of Genetic Heritability In Alcohol Preferences And Sweetener Effectiveness

Ha Nguyen¹, Cailu Lin¹, Katherine Bell¹, Amy Huang¹, Alissa Nolden², Paule Joseph³, Danielle Reed^1
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States, ³National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD

Poster 111

Reports of Smell and Taste Adverse Events From GLP-1 RA’s</5>

Ryann Kolb¹, Emmanuel Nartey², Alicia Lozano², Alexandra Hanlon², Vicente Ramirez¹, Valentina Parma^1
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Center for Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA

7:00

The Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Alkaline Taste Sensation in Drosophila

Tingwei Mi¹, John Mack¹, Wyatt Koolmees¹, Quinn Lyon¹, Luke Yochimowitz¹, Zhao-Qian Teng², Peihua Jiang¹, Craig Montell³, Yali Zhang^1,4
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pa, United States, ²State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, ³Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, ⁴Department of Physiology, The Diabetes Research Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa, United States

Tingwei Mi from Yali Zhang’s lab is the recipient of a Polak Young Investigator Award.

8:00

Re-evaluating Odor Mixtures: Evidence for Predominant Linearity

Robert Pellegrino¹, Jennifer Margolis¹, Carissa Evans¹, Mathew Andres¹, Emily Mayhew², Alex Wiltschko³, Rick Gerkin³, Joel Mainland^1,4
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States, ³Osmo, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Robert Pellegrino from Joel Mainland’s lab is the recipient of a Polak Young Investigator Award.

Friday, April 25

10:00am – Noon: Poster Session

Poster 214

Sars-Cov-2 Infection Of Taste Bud Cells In Human Ace2 Transgenic Mice

Kang-Hoon Kim¹, Emma Larsson¹, Heaven Branch¹, Richard Bowen², Hong Wang^1
11Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Poster 229

Examining The Effects Of Air Pollution On Odor Identification In Aging

Vicente Ramirez, Valentina Parma
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Poster 243

Human Olfactory Organoids as an In Vitro Model of the Olfactory Epithelium

Kang-Hoon Kim¹, Ankit Chauhan², Noam Cohen^1,2,3, Danielle Reed¹, Peihua Jiang¹, Hong Wang¹, Jennifer E Douglas^1,2
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²University of Pennsylvania, Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center Surgical Services, Philadelphia, PA

Poster 271

Umami Taste Detection in Children Versus Adults

Claudia M. Asensio¹, Jessica G. Nicanor Carreon¹, Julie A. Mennella², M. Yanina Pepino^1
1University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States, ²Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Saturday, April 26

Poster 300

Detection Thresholds To Glucose, But Not Other Sweeteners, Differ Between Fasted and Fed States

Alexa J Pullicin^1,2, Galen Moll², Juyun Lim^1,2
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia , PA, United States, ²Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

Poster 411

AChemS Undergrad Finalist

Revealing Explicit Odor Intensity Ratings With Relative Readouts

Aiden Streleckis¹, Robert Pellegrino¹, Beatrice Barra², Matthew Andres¹, Jacqueline Zhao², Dmitry Rinberg², Joel D. Mainland^1,3
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Neuroscience Institute, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, United States, ³Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States