Dr. Gary K. Beauchamp has been Director and President of the Monell Chemical Senses Center

Monell Chemical Senses Center

The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a non-profit independent scientific institute located at the University City Science Center research campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

 since 1990.

Dr. Beauchamp graduated from Carleton College

Carleton College

Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...

 in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in biology

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

. He received his Ph.D. in biopsychology in 1971 from The Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. He joined the newly established Monell Center as a postdoctoral fellow in 1971, was appointed to the faculty in 1973, and attained the rank of Member in 1981.

Dr. Beauchamp maintains an active research program at Monell, exploring varied topics related to taste, olfaction

Olfaction

Olfaction is the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates...

 and chemesthesis

Chemesthesis

Chemesthesis is defined as the chemical sensibility of the skin and mucus membranes. Chemesthetic sensations arise when chemical compounds activate receptors associated with other senses that mediate pain, touch, and thermal perception. These chemical-induced reactions do not fit into the...

. Trained as a psychobiologist, his research has contributed to advancements in the fields of developmental psychology, physiological psychology, and perception; he also has made important contributions to the fields of genetics, developmental biology, immunobiology, ethology, and molecular biology.

Considered one of the world’s leading experts on chemosensory science, Dr. Beauchamp serves as a scientific advisor to numerous governmental and private organizations, including the National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...

 and the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

.

Select publications

• Beauchamp, G. K. and J. A. Mennella. (2011) “Flavor perception in human infants: development and functional significance.” Digestion. 83.1, 1-6.

• Mennella, J. A.; Lukasewycz, L. D.; Griffith, J. W.; Beauchamp, G. K. (2011) “Evaluation of a forced-choice, paired-comparison tracking procedure method for determining taste preferences across the lifespan.” Chemical Senses. 36.4, 345-55.

• Mennella, J. A., Lukasewycz, L. D., Castor, S. M., and Beauchamp, G. K. (2011) “The timing and duration of a sensitive period in human flavor learning: a randomized trial.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 93, 1019-24.

• Mennella, J. A., Ventura, A. K., and Beauchamp, G. K. (2011) “Differential growth patterns among healthy infants fed protein hydrolysate or cow-milk formulas.” Pediatrics. 127.1, 110-18.

• Peyrot des Gachons, C; Beauchamp, G. K.; Stern, R. M.; Koch, K. L.; Breslin, P. A. S. (2011) “Bitter taste induces nausea.” Current Biology. 21, R247-R248.

• Peyrot des Gachons, C; Uchida, K.; Bryant, B. P.; Shima, A.; Sperry, J. B.; Dankulich-Nagrudny, L.; Tominaga, M.; Smith, A. B. III; Beauchamp, G. K.; Breslin, P. A. S. (2011) “Unusual pungency from extra-virgin olive oil is attributable to restricted spatial expression of the receptor of oleocanthal.” Journal of Neuroscience. 31.3, 999-1009.

• Field, K. L.; Beauchamp, G. K.; Kimball, B. A.; Mennella, J. A.; Bachmanov, A. A. (2010) “Bitter avoidance in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and mice (Mus musculus and Peromyscus leucopus).” Journal of Comparative Psychology. 124, 455-59.

• Kwak, J.; Willse, A.; Preti, G.; Yamazaki, K.; Beauchamp, G. K. (2010) “In search of the chemical basis for MHC odourtypes.” Proceedings of the Royal Society. B277, 2417-25.

External links

• Dr. Beauchamp's page at Monell's website
• Harold McGee, "Extra-Virgin Anti-Inflammatories", New York Times, June 6, 2007. Describes the discovery by by Gary Beauchamp, Paul Breslin, and several others of the Monell Chemical Senses Center
  Monell Chemical Senses Center
  The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a non-profit independent scientific institute located at the University City Science Center research campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
  
   in Philadelphia, of anti-inflammatory properties of oleocanthal, a component of pungent olive oils.