Dr. Morley Richard Kare (1922–1990) was a

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

and

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

. Morley Richard Kare was born in 1922 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in 1948 and his Ph.D. in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1952. Dr. Kare taught physiology at Cornell University,

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. Although his early research focused on

muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscl ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

and

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

, he became increasingly interested in the senses of taste and smell and how these senses contribute to nutrition and food choice across species. Kare is best remembered for founding the

Monell Chemical Senses Center The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a non-profit independent scientific institute located at the University City Science Center campus in Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. Monell conducts and publishes interdisciplinary basic research on taste, Olfa ...

, a multidisciplinary basic research institute devoted to the science of taste and smell, located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He served as the Center’s first Director from 1968 until his death in 1990, at which point Dr.

Gary Beauchamp Dr. Gary K. Beauchamp was the director and president of the Monell Chemical Senses Center from August 1990 to September 2014. Dr. Beauchamp graduated from Carleton College in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in biology. He received his Ph.D. in ...

took over. In his memory, the Monell Center created the Morley R. Kare Fellows Fund in 1990. The Fund helps support scientists beginning careers in the chemical senses.

Notable publications

* In 1977, Dr. Morley Kare, with Dr. Michael Naim studied the "effect of oral stimulation on the cephalic phase of pancreatic exocrine secretion in dogs" * In 1987, Dr. Morley Kare contributed to an investigation of

umami Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...

taste, with Dr. Michael Naim and Dr. Ikuo Ohara

References

1922 births 1990 deaths 20th-century Canadian biologists Cornell University alumni People from Winnipeg Scientists from Manitoba Canadian expatriates in the United States {{biologist-stub