The objective of this conference grant request is to provide support for certain aspects of the annual meeting of the International Society of Neurogastronomy (ISN) for the next five years. ISN is a relatively new society whose composition of scientists, clinicians, nutritionists, agricultural experts, food service professionals, and chefs naturally predisposes it to focus on translational issues fundamental to how the chemical senses impact human health. The first two specific objectives are to provide a venue and opportunity that brings these groups together and facilitates the synergies that arise when distinctly different fields interact productively. The third specific objective is to attract and stimulate the young scientists that are the future of the field of neurogastronomy. The fourth specific objective is to do outreach that serves health and culinary professionals by informing them about the impact that smell and taste has upon diet, nutrition, and the growing health problems of obesity-related diseases. The fifth specific objective is to ensure that this new field embraces a culture of diversity, weaving this principle into its early development by recruiting persons of diverse backgrounds to the conference.
A major part of the mission of the International Society of Neurogastronomy (ISN) is to promote the study of flavor and its use to enhance the quality of human life, channeling our growing knowledge of neurogastronomy and chemosensory science into translational action needed to overcome the ways in which flavor preferences are often hijacked to cause unhealthy eating habits. ISN promotes cooperation between scientists and food professionals towards altering the balance of this equation in our culture. ISN?s annual meeting provides an important mechanism for facilitating the interactions between chemosensory scientists, neuroscientists, clinicians, nutritional scientists, agricultural scientists and food professionals needed to develop strategies for using flavor properly - strategies that are both practical and scientifically sound.
