Linda May Bartoshuk (born 1938) is an American psychologist. She is a Presidential Endowed Professor of Community

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

and

Behavioral Science Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. She is an internationally known researcher specializing in the chemical senses of

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

and

smell Smell may refer to; * Odor, airborne molecules perceived as a scent or aroma * Sense of smell, the scent also known scientifically as olfaction * "Smells" (''Bottom''), an episode of ''Bottom'' * The Smell, a music venue in Los Angeles, Californ ...

, having discovered that some people are

supertaster A supertaster is a person whose sense of taste is of far greater intensity than the average person. Some studies also show that an increased sensitivity to bitter tastes may be a cause of selective eating. History The term originated with ...

Biography

Bartoshuk grew up in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre, South Dakota, Pierre. The city population was 2 ...

. She received her B.A. from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

and her PhD from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. Her research explores the

genetic variations Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations. The multiple sources of genetic variation include mutation and genetic recombination. Mutations are the ultimate sources of genetic variation, b ...

in taste perception and how taste perception affects overall health. Bartoshuk was the first to discover that

burning mouth syndrome Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a burning, tingling or scalding sensation in the mouth, lasting for at least four to six months, with no underlying known dental or medical cause. No related signs of disease are found in the mouth. People with ...

, a condition predominantly experienced by postmenopausal women, is caused by damage to the

taste buds Taste buds contain the taste receptor cells, which are also known as gustatory cells. The taste receptors are located around the small structures known as papillae found on the upper surface of the tongue, soft palate, upper esophagus, the che ...

at the front of the

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ (anatomy), organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive system, digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surfa ...

and is not a psychosomatic condition. She was employed at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

prior to accepting a position at the

in 2005. Bartoshuk's work at Yale was funded through a series of NIH grants. She was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1995. In 2003, she was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Selected works

* *Bartoshuk, Linda M, Dreyer, E., Klee, H.J., Odabasi, A.Z., Sims, C.A., Snyder, D.J., & Tieman, D.M. (2014). Mutant tomato varieties and the study of volatile-enhanced-sweetness. Paper presented at the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, 2014. *Bartoshuk, L.M., Marino, S., Snyder, D.J., & Stamps, J. (2013, in press). Head trauma, taste damage and weight gain. Chemical Senses.

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences audio interviewCoverage of Bartoshuk's research
American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists Brown University alumni Carleton College alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences People from Aberdeen, South Dakota University of Florida faculty Yale University faculty 1938 births Living people American women academics 21st-century American women 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub