Smell and taste, two of our senses- we take them for granted and do not pay special attention to them in our daily lives, until there is a change to these senses. An illustrative example was the loss of smell during the Covid pandemic which made us acutely aware of the importance of smell.

In this session on “Decoding Taste & Smell”, we will explore what contributes to these senses. Our two speakers will tell us the latest insights in the research of smell and taste.

How does chemistry contribute to flavour formation? How does smell contribute to our appetite? How can the sense of smell change with e.g. illness?

Dr. Sanne Boesveldt is associate professor at Human Nutrition and Health, WUR. Her career has been devoted to the olfactory system from her PhD at VU, via a postdoctoral research at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, to her research group at WUR. She currently focuses on how odors influence appetite and changes in the sense of smell related to illness.

Dr. Roelant Hilgers is assistant professor at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, WUR. Working as a cook, he became curious about the chemistry of foods and flavors. During his PhD at WUR and postdoc at the Institute for Molecules and Materials in Nijmegen, he worked at the interface of food, analytical, and organic chemistry. His current research focuses on reactions contributing to the flavor of foods.