Inflammation and chemosensory loss

Summary. Overview. Inflammation and Chemosensory Loss This application responds to PAR-22-025 and requests funds for a Clinical Research Center to research how inflammation contributes to the sustained loss of taste and smell in the wake of COVID-19. Three research projects focus on the molecular mechanisms of smell and taste loss, and the Administrative and Chemosensory Clinical Services Core supports the research project investigators with a range of services, including participant recruitment strategies like outreach and education components for clinicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, and policymakers. Project 1 examines people with and without sustained chemosensory loss, including children, and how it is related to olfactory and taste epithelium inflammation. Project 2 examines the olfactory tissue in more depth in a subset of the same participants; Project 3 is similar but for taste. Investigators in Projects 2 and 3 will develop organoids, and we will conduct experiments to see how these organoids respond to variants of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. The theme of long COVID unites the projects, and synergies arise by measuring participants in each project with a standard set of tools, allowing for direct comparisons across projects. All the investigators are experts in their respective fields, and the Director has years of experience administering large research and training programs. Innovation of this project is two-fold: (a) leveraging the unfortunate natural experiment of COVID-19 chemosensory dysfunction to understand the chemical senses better and (b) dissolving boundaries in traditional research aimed at understanding and treating this dysfunction. The investigators of the Clinical Research Center aim to accomplish what no single investigator can do alone as they work toward understanding and treating sustained COVID-associated taste and smell loss and its health consequences.