By Todd Taylor
University of Florida smell and taste experts will join colleagues from other top research institutions to consider how to develop strategies to implement routine chemosensory testing — smell, taste and related sense testing — into the U.S. health care system.
Supported by a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders led by the Monell Chemical Senses Center and colleagues from UF, Massachusetts General Hospital and The Ohio State University, a conference, titled “Towards Universal Chemosensory Testing” will be held Nov. 6-7 in Philadelphia.
Steven Munger, Ph.D., director of the UF Center for Smell and Taste, will serve as a conference co-organizer, and Jeb Justice, M.D., co-director of the UF Health Smell Disorders Program, will be a featured speaker.
“Though smell disorders have many causes and were already common before 2020, COVID-19-related smell loss and alterations have highlighted the need for better diagnostic tools and treatments,” Munger said. “This unique conference will explore ways that we can make smell testing and treatment a regular part of medical care.”