Sensory Science and Chronic Diseases

Paule Joseph , PhD, RN, MS, CRNP, FAAN is a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar, Tenure Track Clinical Investigator and Chief of the Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism Unit (SenSMet) in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research (DICBR) with a joint appointment at National Institute of Nursing Research(NINR) . She is is also a 2018 NIH Distinguished Scholar. Dr. Joseph is conducting preclinical, clinical, and translational studies to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and management of chemosensory disorders. The Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet) aims to understand neurological and molecular mechanisms underlying chemosensation (taste, smell & chemesthesis) and motivational pathways of ingestive behaviors how they might be different in individuals with obesity and alcohol and substance use disorders. Her laboratory is particularly interested in studying how the brain incorporates chemosensory information from the external environment and its internal states to guide eating/ingestive behavior. To achieve this goal, her laboratory conducts clinical-translational inpatient and outpatient studies. We use a combination of biobehavioral and innovative validated psychophysical methods for human studies. Her laboratory also use imaging brain techniques, such as fMRI for olfaction and gustation. To provide mechanistic insight into our clinical research, her laboratory is also conducting preclinical studies using rodent models to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms that influence how the brain perceives the chemical senses (taste, smell, chemesthesis) and feeding behavior in a state of disease (e.g., obesity and substance use disorders). In addition, due to reports of taste and smell loss from individuals affected by COVID-19, our lab began investigating chemosensation and COVID-19. We are focused on understanding the effects of the SARS-CoV-2virus on the chemical senses. Dr. Joseph's laboratory is leading research that is aimed at enhancing the understanding of molecular, cellular, neural, and behavioral mechanisms underlying symptoms to identify new targets for treatment and improve symptom management strategies for chemosensory disorders. Furthermore, the laboratory is interested in the interplay between metabolic disorders, sensory-related pathways and brain diseases, in particular alcohol and substance use disorders. As a nurse and family nurse practitioner, Dr. Paule Joseph has worked extensively with individuals with diabetes, and obesity including ndividuals undergoing weight loss surgery. She also has expertise in the clinical management of substance use disorders. Dr. Joseph has received several awards, including the highly competitive Johnson & Johnson- American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Minority Nurse Faculty Scholarship and the Rockefeller University Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award. She is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an international Transcultural Nursing Fellow. Dr. Joseph's leadership comprises her multifaceted career combining research and clinical practice. Aside from her research at the NIH, Dr. Joseph is devoted to promoting diversity and decreasing health disparities. Her visionary leadership of national and global non-profits has focused on increasing the promotion of health within underserved populations and increasing diversity among the next generation of clinical and translational researchers. She currently serves as Vice-president of the Amazing Grace Children's Foundation based in Ghana. She also mentors and trains students and junior faculty from underrepresented backgrounds. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Mentorship for the African Research Academy for Women. Dr. Joseph's clinical experience, research interests, leadership skills, and dedication to diversity and healthhave distinguished her as a nurse scientist.

Valerie B. Duffy , PhD, RD is a Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Her research program has two main areas fueled by continuous extramural funding. First, her team aims to understand the influence of variation in chemosensory perception on food flavor, food preference, and consumption as well as on cigarette smoking behaviors. The ultimate goal of these research projects is to understand how chemosensory variation influences individuals' ability to follow healthy diets and healthy habits for chronic disease prevention. Her second major area of research interest involves the formation of interdisciplinary teams to work with community agencies to promote health diets and weights of children and their families, particularly those of economic disadvantage. These efforts incorporate undergraduate and graduate student research and investigate the effectiveness of community-based interventions to improve diet healthiness for obesity prevention. Dr. Duffy and her students have published over 80 peer-reviewed research papers, 22 book chapters, and over 180 conference proceeding at national and international meetings. She has received several awards for excellence in teaching, research, and service. Dr. Duffy's research has been cited over 9,600 times (Google Scholar). Students who have trained in her lab are advancing health promotion through research, practice, and leadership. She has served as major advisor for 54 graduate students in the completion of their Masters or Doctoral work, and numerous undergraduates completing their honors and research experiences.