Science cafe

Smell and taste, two of our senses- we take them for granted and do not pay special
attention to them in our daily lives, until there is a change to these senses. An illustrative
example was the loss of smell during the Covid pandemic which made us acutely aware of
the importance of smell.
In this session on “Sense of the smell and taste”, we will explore what contributes to these
senses. Our two speakers will tell us the latest insights in the research of smell and taste.
How does chemistry contribute to flavour formation? How does smell contribute to our
appetite? How can the sense of smell change with e.g. illness?
Dr. Sanne Boesveldt is associate professor at Human Nutrition and Health, WUR. Her
career has been devoted to the olfactory system from her PhD at VU, via a postdoctoral
research at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, to her research group at WUR. She
currently focuses on how odors influence appetite and changes in the sense of smell
related to illness.
Dr. Roelant Hilgers is assistant professor at the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, WUR.
Working as a cook, he became curious about the chemistry of foods and flavors. During his
PhD at WUR and postdoc at the Institute for Molecules and Materials in Nijmegen, he
worked at the interface of food, analytical, and organic chemistry. His current research
focuses on reactions contributing to the flavor of foods