CHEMOSENSORY CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER

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The Monell Jefferson Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCRC) involves a collaboration between scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and physicians at Thomas Jefferson University. Collaborative projects also exist with physicians and scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Philadelphia. The CCRC is devoted to the scientific examination of clinical disorders in taste, smell, and chemical irritation, as well as to basic research in the chemical senses in humans. Through the multi- disciplinary study of clinical populations, CCRC scientists expect to characterize and understand the etiologies of disorders in chemosensory function, provide information on mechanisms and functions of the chemical senses in humans, and develop strategies for treating/coping with chemosensory disorders. The purposed renewal of the CCRC will comprise an Administrative Core unit, a Sensory Core unit (which oversees the evaluation of referred patients with primary complaints of chemosensory disorders as well as refer patients to specific Projects), an three individual research projects. The general aims of the CCRC are: 1) to continue to provide a clinic facility for the evaluation of chemosensory disorders and the study of their etiologies and prognoses, with special emphasis on follow-up of patients and evaluating the quality of life of individuals with chemosensory disorders; 2) to continue to study human olfactory function at the cellular level, applying sensitive electrophysiological and biophysical techniques to human biopsy material collected from healthy young adults and aged individuals, and from patients with neurodegenerative diseases; 3) to increase our understanding of the role of peri-receptor events in the dynamic process of olfactory adaptation and recovery in patient and non-patient populations; 4) to continue unraveling the relationships between intranasal chemesthesis and olfaction, using referred anosmic patients and those with normal olfaction as experimental subjects.