Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Riechen und Schmecken
The interdisciplinary "Smell and taste center" was first established in 1998, following Professor Dr. Hüttenbrink's commitment to the topic as president of the project group "Olfactology and Gustology of the German ENT society". Ever since, the work group has evolved under the management of Professor Dr. med. Thomas Hummel to span a range of activities from clinical counselling for patients with smell and taste disorders to scientific research focusing on both fundamental and clinical fields. The head of department is currently Professor Dr. med. Thomas Zahnert.
Special projects are dedicated to aspects of trigeminal chemoreception and differentiation between ortho- and retronsal olfaction. In addition to working on the improvement of evaluation and therapy of smell disorders in general, research on impaired olfaction and gustation in neurodegenerative disorders - particularly in Parkinson's Disease - is emphasized.
Presently, Marie Gottschlich, Caroline Knorr, Marcus Münch, and Jenny Drusch are taking care of patients with smell and taste problems, while PD Dr. med. Antje Hähner, Dr. Emilia Iannilli, PhD, and Dr. med. Dipl. Psych. Cornelia Hummel are studying aspects of human chemosensation on a scientific level. ENT physicians Dr. med. Jens Reden, Dr. med. Mandy Cuevas and Prof. Dr. med. habil. Volker Gudziol are particularly involved in the center's research programme. Dr. Konstanze Hill is the supervisor of experimental MRI studies, and Nicole Reither and Franz Große are contributing to the center's activities as student assistants.
Furthermore, a number of doctorate theses are being worked on (e.g. Stefan Puschmann's "Neuroanatomical correlates of smell function in children and adults", Mirko Röder's "Objective assessment of olfaction in patients with smell disorders", Sophia Henkel's "Olfaction in epilepsy patients", Heike Maroldt's "Prognostic significance of qualitative smell disorders").
A network of close cooperation links the smell and taste center not only to partners within Dresden university (Institut für Anatomie, Abteilung Neuroradiologie (Dr. Gerber, Dr. Kitzler), der Klinik für Neurologie (Prof. Ziemssen, Prof. Storch) und der Klinik für Psychosomatik (Dr. Schellong), but also to clinicians and scientists on both national and international levels: Prof. Gudziol (HNO, Jena), Prof. Dr. Damm (HNO, Köln), Prof. Drs. Heckmann (Neurologie & ZMK, Landshut & Erlangen), Prof. Dr. Stuck (HNO, Mannheim), Prof. Dr. Hatt (Physiologie, Bochum), Prof. Dr. Welge-Lüssen (HNO, Basel), Dr. Landis (Genf, HNO), Prof. Müller (HNO, Wien), Drs. Royet und Bensafi (Psychologie, Lyon), Dr. Schaal (Psychologie, Dijon), Dr. Berendse (Neurologie, Amsterdam), Prof. Dr. Alonso (Physiologie, Barcelona), Dr. Bende (HNO, Skovede), Dr. Larsson (Psychologie, Stockholm), Dr. Nordin (Psychologie, Umea), Prof. Dr. MacKay-Sim (Physiologie, Brisbane), Dr. Laing (Psychologie, Sydney), Dr. Dalton (Psychologie, Philadelphia), Dr. Rawson (Biologie, Philadelphia), Dr. Lundstrom (Psychologie, Philadelphia), Dr. Leopold (HNO, Omaha), Dr. Small (Psychologie, New Haven) oder Prof. Sobel (Psychologie, Rehovot).