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Ph.D.
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My research interests lie in defining the receptor and transduction processes in the sense of taste. Current projects of the laboratory include 1) cloning and characterization of ion channels from human taste tissue that are involved in sour and salty taste; 2) investigating the response of human taste cells to taste stimuli; 3) characterizing individual taste cell function based on knowledge of the genes expressed; 4) defining the roles of neuromodulators in taste cells; 5) quantifying gene expression after irradiation of the tongue to determine the metabolic trigger leading to the disappearance of the taste bud with the consequential loss of taste. The long-term goal of this research is to characterize the taste transduction process well enough to develop treatments for taste abnormalities caused by medications, therapy or normal aging |
Joseph G. Brand