For example, female supertasters report ambivalence toward sweets and high fat foods while female nontasters rate these foods as highly preferable. I continue to collaborate with Dr. Linda Bartoshuk to study genetic variation in taste. Taste also shows variation across pregnancy. I am collaborating with Drs. Linda Bartoshuk, Ruth Striegel- Moore, and Judith Rodin to analyze longitudinal data on changes in taste and food behaviors across pregnancy.
Olfactory perception is vulnerable to loss with pathology and aging.
In my doctoral research, I investigated the nutritional risk associated with olfactory dysfunction in a sample of free-living, elderly women. New funding from the NIA will allow me to investigate how the sense of taste interacts with oral processing of olfactory stimuli to influence flavor perception in aging. Another area of research involves the clinical application of topical capsaicin for the treatment of oral pain. My colleagues and I have presented on topical capsaicin as a treatment for oral mucositis pain in cancer therapy patients. We continue to study how to maximize the pain control of capsaicin while minimizing the burn of capsaicin.