Night Lab: The Science of Smell

It’s happened to all of us: we catch a slight whiff of a familiar scent – an old love’s perfume, cookies in the oven, lilacs blooming – and suddenly we are transported to a time and place in our distant past. But how and why do scents evoke emotion, what else does our sense of smell influence, and how does our sense of smell actually work? Join us for Night Lab: The Science of Smell, where we’ll unravel the scientific mysteries of this most interesting sense. Dr. Alan Hirsch, Director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation will share his cutting-edge research on smell and taste, illuminating how our sense of smell influences human emotion, mood, behavior, diseases states, consumer preferences and weight loss. You’ll also learn about how your sense of smell connects with the most primitive part of your brain, linking scents with emotions, and the neurobiology of scent. Like any good scientist, everyone will get do their own experiments, smelling and tasting their way through the evening.

When: April 12, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Schubas (3159 N. Southport Avenue)
Details: FREE, No Pre-Registration Required
Brown Line to Southport
21+

About Dr. Hirsch
Alan Hirsch, M.D., F.A.C.P., a board-certified neurologist and psychaiatrist, is a nationally recognized smell and taste expert. He currently serves as a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Hirsch has written seven books on the science of smell and taste, and holds multiple patents relating to the use of olfactory mechanisms to influence biological responses.

The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation works to advance research and knowledge on the effects of smell and taste on human emotion, mood, behavior and disease states, and is committed to helping people overcome the loss of smell and taste sensations, and enabling those with normal sensory abilities to use their sense of smell and taste to their full potential. The foundation specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of smell and taste-related disorders.

About Night Lab:
Created by a scientist with a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology (who wasn’t always so hot at math herself) Science is Sexy gives non-scientists and scientists alike a short and sweet taste of science in their everyday lives, highlighting the people and organizations that make Chicago a rockstar city for science. While offering adults in the city innovative opportunities to engage in the excitement, beauty, and ubiquity of science, our programs give scientists and members of Chicago’s science community a fabulous way to connect to the rest of the city outside of the lab. Our programs are perfect for people who flunked chemistry, think genes come from The Gap, or think “that’s hard!” when they hear the word molecular. Whether you are just curious about science or a professional scientist, Night Lab is for you.