Oral & Cutaneous Sensitivity

Principal Investigator:

Director Emeritus and Fellow
The John B. Pierce Laboratory

Professor of Surgery (Otolaryngology)
Yale School of Medicine

Research Interests

Research in my laboratory focuses on chemosensory and somatosensory perception in humans. We use psychophysical methods to study the sensitivity and response characteristics of the underlying sensory systems and the interactions among them that enable perception of conditions and objects in the immediate environment. A central goal of our approach is to relate psychophysical findings in humans to current neurobiological data and theory.

Current Projects

My laboratory is currently working on two projects: the role of saliva in the perception of salt and water funded by the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, and the olfactory, taste, and chemesthetic components of e-cigarette flavors, with an emphasis on menthol and its interaction with sensory irritants in e-liquids, including nicotine. The latter research is being conducted as part of the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, which is funded by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the purpose of providing science-based knowledge to guide regulation of tobacco.

Recent Publications

Laboratory Members