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Category: Latest News

Latest News
11 November 2022

Volunteer Forum 2022 | In-Person & Online

On Saturday 3rd December we are holding a Volunteer Forum in Birmingham at Aston University.

This is to be a celebration of all SmellTaste Volunteers. Whether you are an existing volunteer, Ambassador, Champion or you are interested in becoming a volunteer this will be a wonderful way of meeting your fellow volunteer and meeting other members of the SmellTaste Volunteer team as well as the wider team.

The day will begin at 13.00 where there will be lunch and a chance to network before the start of the working afternoon.

Duncan Boak, the CEO will give a welcome and that will be followed by the afternoon agenda.

At the core of this day will be hearing from you about your experience as a volunteer and your views on volunteering. What you would like to see as volunteering roles and what SmellTaste can do to make volunteering better for those undertaking this vital role.The day will be brought to a close by Duncan and finally refreshments before going home.

Attend In-Person - Click Here to Book Your Ticket
Online - Click Here to Book Your Ticket

Sanofi UK provided a financial contribution to support SmellTaste’s Volunteer Forum. Sanofi has had no input or editorial control in the meeting arrangements or materials used.

By SmellTaste
Latest News
10 November 2022

Smell and Taste Information Event at Cheltenham Hospital

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with SmellTaste is opening a new Smell Disorders and Allergy Clinic at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. The consultant-led service will be the first time that patients can be seen at a dedicated and specialist smell clinic in the area.

SmellTaste is proud to have been involved in the development of this new clinic and will continue to support the team moving forwards. We will provide local support and information to patients, help signpost people to the new service and work with hospital staff to contribute to the latest cutting-edge research in this specialist area.

Duncan Boak, Chief Executive and founder of SmellTaste said, “There has been a real need for a specialist smell clinic in this part of England, so I’m delighted that Mr Okonkwo and his team have established this important new service. I am really looking forward to us working together to make a difference to people in the area and drive forward vital education and research.”

Mr Okechukwu Okonkwo, Ear Nose and Throat Consultant at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital said, “We are delighted to be able to offer this service to the people of Gloucestershire. There are lots of different causes of smell impairment, but by having this new clinic and working with SmellTaste we hope to improve the lives of people with this condition. We are already seeing lots of demand and have started to accept referrals through GPs.”

To celebrate this achievement, we will be hosting a Smell and Taste Information Day (10:00 – 13:00) on 12th November at the Sandford Education Centre at Cheltenham Hospital. This event will give you an opportunity to learn more about the new service and will provide a chance for you to meet both the clinical and SmellTaste teams. The event will be free to attend, supported by SmellTaste’s funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

If you would like more information about the event, please email: info@fifthsense.org.uk

This Event Has Now Reached Full Capacity 

By SmellTaste
Latest News
7 October 2022

Applications Are Now Open for Postgraduate Research Project at the Norwich Medical School

Norwich Medical School has opened applications for postgraduate students who have a keen interest in the sense of smell and the role it has in recalling memories, to take part in a postgraduate research project that will conduct a detailed evaluation of declarative memory in older adults with anosmia.

Background   

“Studies of age-differences in declarative memory have repeatedly reported a decline of episodic memory but generally preserved semantic memory function in ageing. This is exacerbated in carriers of the APOE-4 allele, the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ageing is also often associated with smell loss (anosmia), and this also appears to be more common in APOE-4 carriers. While odours are known to evoke rich and emotional memories, very few studies have investigated the impact of anosmia on declarative memory. It thus still unclear which aspects of episodic memory are affected by anosmia and whether other types of declarative memory (e.g., general and personal semantics) are also affected. Our research team has developed new tests of declarative memory, that allow a comprehensive evaluation of episodic, semantic and personal semantic memory (Renoult et al., 2020), and has extensive expertise in the evaluation of anosmia (Addison et al., 2021, Ball et al 2021, Philpott & Boak 2014). This project will conduct a detailed evaluation of declarative memory (cued by odours and via other modalities) in older adults with anosmia, including in individuals at increased genetic risk (APOE4 carriers) for AD, using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques (EEG, functional MRI (fMRI). It is hoped that the project will provide unique opportunities to better understand how anosmia affects memory, but also to improve the evaluation of memory functions in healthy ageing and in those at risk for AD. Furthermore, the project will provide an opportunity to explore the use of memory in the rehabilitation of patients with olfactory disorders.“

Entry Requirements

Acceptable first degree in Psychology, Medicine, Biology or Neuroscience. The standard minimum entry requirement is 2:1. A good background in theories and methods of Cognitive Psychology/Neuroscience is required, as well as experience testing human participants. Prior experience with EEG and/or fMRI would be advantageous.

Learn More Here
By SmellTaste
Latest News
21 September 2022

UEA Press Coverage Report

Over the last two years it is clear that there is a need for information about the impact that viruses (including Covid-19) can have on our sense of smell and taste.
 
The University of East Anglia have released a report on the press coverage they have received in The Conversation from articles written by Professor Carl Philpott and other medical professionals between 2021-2022. Download the full report here.
 
You can read some of Professor Carl Philpott’s artciles below:
By SmellTaste
Latest News
20 September 2022

Oxford Brookes and Ulster University Mental Health & Covid-19 Research

Researchers at Oxford Brookes and Ulster University are running a research study investigating the reasons for any impact that taste and smell loss due to Covid-19 can have on our mental health and lifestyle.  This work is building on an earlier research study that over 1,000 people took part in, including a lot of SmellTaste members. This earlier study investigated levels of depression and anxiety in people with changes to their taste and/or smell compared to those with fully functioning taste and/or smell, and will be published soon. What the researchers want to do now is find out exactly why these changes to taste and/or smell can impact mental health and lifestyle by hearing about the lived experiences from those of you who are living with this every day.

If you have experienced smell and/or taste impairment following Covid-19 and are interested in sharing your experiences in an online Zoom call lasting around 45 minutes then please contact Andy Mitchelmore, Senior Lecturer in Health and Exercise Physiology, at: amitchelmore@brookes.ac.uk

By SmellTaste
Latest News
14 September 2022

World Taste and Smell Day 2022: Transforming understanding of smell and taste disorders

For World Smell and Taste Day 2022 I want to share a message on how important advocacy is at SmellTaste, and how actively involving and empowering the people we represent continues to be so vital to the work of our charity.

SmellTaste’s vision is to transform society’s understanding of the importance of smell and taste, and through doing so, transform the lives of those affected by smell and taste disorders. Our work over the years has demonstrated that if people have a better understanding if the ways in which smell and taste influence and impact our lives, then in turn they can better understand the impact that smell and taste impairment can have. This ‘transformation in understanding’ can be very powerful indeed when it is led by those of us with the lived experience of a smell or taste disorder.

It is vital for those of us with this lived experience to be able to speak up and advocate for ourselves, and in turn, educate others.  We can all be advocates, but we often lack the confidence, knowledge and support to do so. This is one way in which SmellTaste plays an important role.

I know this from my own experience. For over six years after I lost my sense of smell I didn’t engage with it. This was due, in no small part, to being told by my doctor that little was known about smell loss and nothing could be done.  I listened and I didn’t question this.  My doctor knew more than I did, right?

It wasn’t until I read about someone else’s experience (Molly Birnbaum’s excellent book Season to Taste: How I lost my sense of smell and found my way) that I learned I wasn’t as completely alone, as I’d thought, and that there were doctors who knew about smell disorders.  Reading Molly’s book prompted me to take action: I wrote to one of the experts I had read about, Prof Thomas Hummel.  In turn, Thomas introduced me to Consultant ENT Surgeon Prof Carl Philpott, who had established the UK’s first NHS smell and taste clinic.

Through the conversations I subsequently had with Carl I learned that there were lots of other people who, like me, had been given no information or support, and there was nothing out there to help them.  I decided to use my experience to positive effect and create the organisation that I wished in hindsight had been there to support me when I first lost my sense of smell. But more than that; I wanted to create an organisation that would give others the opportunity to use their experiences to help change the way smell and taste disorders are recognised, treated and researched. We launched SmellTaste in 2012.

Fifth Sense puts the people we represent at the heart of everything we do. This is one of the things I am most proud of about our charity: our focus on people, and how we support, encourage and empower those affected by smell and taste disorders to become champions of their own condition and play their part in our efforts to increase recognition, improve services and drive vital research.   

And we involve everyone.  The reason why we’re the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders is because we seek to include and support those with the lived experience and also partners, parents, other family members, friends, as well as clinicians, researchers and others with a passion for smell and taste.

I’d like to take the opportunity to highlight just a few of the people who are actively involved in SmellTaste’s work.

There’s Chessie, who sought support from SmellTaste in 2017 just as she was beginning to come to terms with a diagnosis of congenital anosmia. Fast forward to 2022, and as a SmellTaste Ambassador Chessie has played a vital role in our Priority Setting Partnership and the Smell and Taste Disorders Symposium we held with the University of East Anglia, talking about the impact that congenital anosmia has on young people and their parents.

Tom lost his sense of smell after an unprovoked assault when he was 19 but it wasn’t until 2013 when he was able to share what this loss meant to him as a speaker at the very first SmellTaste conference.  Since then Tom has become a passionate advocate for SmellTaste, now well-known within our community for leading our virtual #LetsTalkSmellAndTaste sessions.

Tracey has recently joined SmellTaste as a volunteer. Whilst she doesn’t have a problem with her sense of smell or taste, she is getting involved in support of a family member.  Tracey wants to work with us to provide support to others and help increase recognition of the significant impact that smell and taste impairment can have on people. 

Sadly I can’t include everyone’s stories here, but I would like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our volunteers, ambassadors and champions for the important work that you do on behalf of SmellTaste and our cause.  Head over to our website to find out more about our team.  

This is how SmellTaste works.  We actively involve the people we represent in our work and empower them to help us in our ongoing efforts to make these invisible disabilities visible. 

And we need to, because there is still a huge lack of recognition and knowledge about smell and taste disorders across health and social care.  Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted smell and taste impairment like never before, it has also highlighted the lack of recognition and knowledge amongst healthcare professionals, lack of specialist services and lack of research into new treatments.  

It’s through working together and enabling our voices to be heard that we can change things, and we’re continuing to grow and develop with the involvement of the people we represent. One of SmellTaste’s most important initiatives, our Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership, was led by a steering group made up of SmellTaste members and clinicians, and delivered a set of research priorities that are informing the direction of the SmellTaste Research Hub, launched in May this year.  

There’s much more to do, and much more to come, and there are lots of ways that people can get involved in our work. Whether it’s providing support to others, raising awareness in your own community, or raising funds to support vital research, there are ways in which everyone can get involved. We’d love to hear from you.  Please contact us as info@fifthsense.org.uk if you’d like to help, and if you’d like to make a donation to help fund our support services, educational work and research you can do so here.  

Thanks to all of our volunteers, ambassadors and champions for everything you do.  

Frauke, Dia, Katie, Sharika, Yazz, Alison, Charlie, Carl, Chessie, Aisha, Josie, Rebecca, Louise, Sarah, Debs, Tom, Ruth, Max, Julie, Joanne, Tracey, Trevor, Jan, Alison, Bayo, Lucy, Ed, Kathy, Elaine, Luke, Adam, Janet, Tracy 

All the best,
Duncan
Chief Executive and founder

By SmellTaste
Latest News
10 August 2022

SmellTaste and OWidgets announce new collaboration

We are excited to announce a new collaboration between SmellTaste and technology company OWidgets. Working together to advance knowledge across our shared interests – research, education and the support of those with chemosensory disorders and innovation in digital smell technology – our collaboration will see us share our expertise and explore new projects together with the aim of improving the lives of people affected by smell disorders through the development of digital applications and devices.  

OWidgets is a company established to both harness the use of the sense of smell and its power and aid people with smell disorders through scientific and technological advances. Established as a University spin-out in 2019, OWidgets (OW) was founded by two leading scientists – Emanuela Maggioni and Marianna Obrist. Emanuela received a PhD in Social, Cognitive, and Clinical Psychology in 2015 at the University of Milano-Bicocca, was visiting researcher at the University of Oxford and UCL, and is now an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, Department of Computer Science, where Marianna is Professor of Multisensory Interfaces, leading an interdisciplinary team studying next to smell, also taste and touch experiences. OW creates digital smell technology that aims to transform an ecosystem dominated by sound and vision, giving the sense of smell the attention it deserves.

‘I’m very excited about the potential offered by our collaboration with OWidgets’ said SmellTaste Chief Executive and founder Duncan Boak. ‘Our Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership highlighted that SmellTaste members want to see technology being used to rehabilitate smell and taste, and there are other applications too, for example around safety in the home. The OWidgets team are passionate about making a difference to people with smell and taste disorders and I am looking forward to working together.’  

Prof Marianna Obrist, OWidgets Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder, talked about some of the company’s work and plans in the presentation she gave at the 2021 SmellTaste National Conference. You can watch this on the SmellTaste YouTube channel here.  To learn more about OWidgets visit www.ow-smelldigital.com

By SmellTaste
Latest News
6 July 2022

British Society of Perfumers Charity of the Year 2022

We’re delighted to announce that the British Society of Perfumers has made SmellTaste their 2022 Charity of the Year.

The Society and SmellTaste are looking forward to working together and engaging BSP members in the important work the charity is doing to drive forward vital support, education and research for people affected by smell and taste disorders, and highlight the essential role that these senses play in our lives.

“I’m very proud that the British Society of Perfumers has chosen SmellTaste as their charity of the year” said SmellTaste’s CEO and founder Duncan Boak. “The BSP and their members are as passionate about the importance of the senses of smell and taste as we are, and together we have a great opportunity to benefit the people that SmellTaste represents and increase people’s understanding of the impact that and smell and taste impairment can have on the health and wellbeing of those affected.”

Duncan gave the keynote speech at the BSP’s May 2022 symposium. He was very pleased to see the level of support for SmellTaste and our cause amongst BSP members. “Until I established SmellTaste in 2012 there was no organisation acting on behalf of the significant numbers of people experiencing problems with smell and taste, and we’ve been working hard since then to enable to get their voices heard. There is a greater awareness of smell and taste disorders than ever before because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and I spoke to many BSP members at the symposium who had experienced temporary smell impairment, or know someone who is struggling. Together we can push for greater recognition, understanding and improved services for the people SmellTaste represents.”

I am delighted I am that SmellTaste is our chosen charity this year and that they were part of our first one day symposium since the pandemic” said new BSP President Marianne Martin. “We were honoured to have Duncan our key note speaker. We are looking forward to further collaboration throughout the year and hope that the connections between the two organisations will continue beyond the year.”

We would like to say a huge thanks to the BSP for their support of SmellTaste and our cause. We are looking forward to working together over the next year and beyond.  

By SmellTaste
Latest News
1 June 2022

Smell & Taste Symposium 2022

SmellTaste recently partnered with the University of East Anglia (UEA) to host a Smell and Taste Disorders Symposium to highlight the challenges faced by patients, the clinical management of smell and taste disorders and latest advances in research. We launched the SmellTaste Research Hub in tandem with the event. The symposium, aimed at healthcare professionals and researchers, was held both in-person at the University and virtually.  It was chaired by Professor Carl Philpott, SmellTaste trustee and Director of UK’s first NHS smell and taste clinic and our CEO and founder Duncan Boak. 

                   

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, smell and taste disorders have come to the forefront. However, despite the growing prevalence, patients can often feel the impact of their condition is not recognised, and there is a need for improved education and training of clinicians.  The event included perspectives from patients living with different types of smell and taste disorders alongside approaches taken by clinicians in managing these conditions. Latest advances in the field of smell and taste research include the launch of our top ten research priorities gathered through our Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership with the James Lind Alliance. The event was attended by an international body of patients, clinicians, journalists and research personnel.

Mr Simon Gane, Consultant ENT Surgeon UCL, gave a talk on the olfactory function in health and disease. Miss Lisha McClelland Consultant ENT surgeon University of Birmingham and Miss Katie Whitcroft, senior ENT registrar from Yorkshire gave talks on history taking/olfactory disorder questionnaires and psychophysical smell testing respectively. The event also included a talk from Professor Claire Hopkins, Professor of Rhinology, King’s College London, on COVID 19 related olfactory dysfunction.

Professor Philpott led a panel discussion entitled ‘Managing olfactory disorders’, with all guest speakers including Dr. Sami, Associate Professor in dementia research, Norwich Medical School, Dr. Sara Bengtsson, Associate Professor in psychology, Developmental Sciences, University of East Anglia who also gave talks on the role of functional MR imaging and Olfactory Event Related Potentials in smell and taste research along with Dr. Caroline Huart, ENT Surgeon, Brussels and research clinician in Olfactology.

the symposium team after the event

The other sessions highlighted recent advances in smell and taste research and included our plans for the new SmellTaste Research Hub, which has been established to take forward the research priorities resulting from the Priority Setting Partnership. These have been split into six core themes and have been assigned experts in the area. These include:

  • Basic Science – Pathophysiology of disease: led by Steven Munger Ph.D Director of the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste.
  • Stem cell and Regenerative research: led by Prof James Schwob, Professor of Developmental, Molecular & Chemical Biology at Tufts University School of Medicine and Bradley Goldstein MD, Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Education and training: led by Mr Irfan Syed, Dr Devina Maru (National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow, Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care Directorate, GP Specialty Registrar, London), Mr Sankalp Sunkaraneni, Consultant ENT Surgeon, Royal Surrey County Hospital
  • Clinical trials and epidemiology: led by Prof Carl Philpott, Professor of Rhinology & Olfactology, University of East Anglia
  • Technology and digital health: led by Marianna Obrist, Professor of Multisensory Interfaces, University College London
  • Supportive care: led by Rachel Herz Ph.D, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, Brown University and part-time Faculty at Boston College and Dr Lorenzo Stafford, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth.

“This event was about a partnership with patients through SmellTaste, to make their voices heard and to set the scene for empathic management of smell and taste disorders. It also provided a platform to launch the outcomes of the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting partnership”  Prof Carl Philpott.

On the back of the success of this year’s symposium, it is hoped that in May 2023, a 2 day symposium will be hosted at UEA to allow a greater breadth of topics to be covered: UK National Smell Symposium | ENT & Audiology News (entandaudiologynews.com)

Please contact K.Tate@uea.ac.uk for further details.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our volunteers Carl, Chessie, June, Lucy and Ruth for participating in the event and sharing their personal stories.

Report by Kala Kumaresan, Clinical Research Fellow, James Paget University Hospital, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk UK.

By SmellTaste
Latest News
31 May 2022

The MACRO Programme – A Call for Participants

Sinus surgery and antibiotics are used to treat Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) in routine care, but we do not know which works best. The MACRO trial will help doctors treat patients with CRS better in the future.
 
All participants in the trial receive nasal steroids and saline rinses as standard care, alongside their randomly allocated treatment option of either sinus surgery, antibiotics or placebo tablets. They are followed up for six months to gauge the success of each treatment in terms of improvement of symptoms, quality of life and possible side effects, as well as cost-effectiveness.
 
More details can be found on the trial website www.themacroprogramme.org.uk – Workstream 2 covers the current stage of the trial.
 
People with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without polyps who are interested in participating in the MACRO trial must first be referred by their GPs or ENT specialists to one of the 19 recruiting centres. If you have been previously treated by your GP for CRS and you meet the criteria on the “Interested in Participating in the MACRO Trial” page of the website, a referral to be assessed by the trial team at a centre of your choice should be straightforward. The team will then determine if you can join the study or will be able to discuss alternative treatments if you are unable to take part in MACRO. The details of the centres and the lead investigators currently recruiting are on the above website.
 
We hope that the results of this research will benefit all of our members with CRS by identifying the best treatment for them.
By SmellTaste