Robin Dando
Robin Dando, originally from the UK, is a professor at Cornell University. His lab studies the neurotransmitter interactions and signaling events that occur within the mammalian taste system. Our sense of taste is one of the strongest drives that we possess, and is inexorably linked to emotions, memories, and our quality of life. It is one of our richest senses, and yet remains probably the most poorly understood. Taste consists of many complex events which take a simple receptor activation in the tongue to a rich and emotional response such as that elicited by our favorite foods. As yet little is known about the true nature or depth of these interactions. His research utilizes techniques from neuroscience, molecular biology, and behavioral science to probe the mammalian taste system. Dando is currently investigating how obesity, the preeminent health concern of our time, interacts with our taste system, and thus influences the food that we select.