Dana Small. The John B. Pierce Laboratory

What is the link between brain and obesity? How do weight gain and the associated physiological adaptations influence brain function? How do the neural circuits governing feeding and flavour preference formation predispose certain individuals to gain weight? These are the kind of questions Dana Small intends to answer as Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and Deputy Director of Research at The John B. Pierce Laboratory (US), a research institute affiliated with Yale that is dedicated exploring the interactions between physiological systems and the stresses imposed by the modern environment, with the goal of optimizing these interactions to improve human health and comfort. Her research focuses on the neurophysiology of taste, flavour and feeding and determining how the modern food environment impacts brain circuitry. She currently serves on the National Academy of Sciences Board on Behavioral Cognitive and Sensory Sciences and on the executive committee for the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.