Steven Munger 
Professor/Vice Chair/Director | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
Steven Munger and his lab are working to understand diverse chemosensory transduction mechanisms in the Center for Smell and Taste.
Biography
Steven Munger is director of the Center for Smell and Taste, professor of pharmacology and therapeutics and editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Chemical Senses. In the Munger Lab, they are working to understand how diverse chemosensory transduction mechanisms, including different taste and olfactory receptors, contribute to chemosensory function, impact ingestive and social behaviors, and interact with hormonal systems that regulate metabolism, nutrient response and homeostasis.
Areas of Expertise (4)
Anosmia
Taste
Smell
Smell and Taste Disorders
Media Appearances (1)
Why lost sense of smell from COVID-19 is a serious threat to patients' quality of life
USA Today online
2021-03-17
One of the most common, yet remarkable, symptoms of COVID-19 is the sudden loss of smell. Roses are no longer fragrant. Coffee tastes like bitter water, bread like cardboard. You don’t notice the burning roast until the kitchen fills with smoke. Although most patients recover their ability to smell in days or weeks, for a significant number of people this loss may be long-term, or even permanent. Unfortunately, we currently lack effective therapies, let alone cures, for smell disorders.
Articles (3)
More Than Smell—COVID-19 Is Associated With Severe Impairment of Smell, Taste, and Chemesthesis
Chemical SensesValentina Parma, et al.
2021-12-08
Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements.
Olfactory subsystems associated with the necklace glomeruli in rodents
Cell and Tissue ResearchArthur D. Zimmerman and Steven D. Munger
2021-01-06
The necklace glomeruli are a loosely defined group of glomeruli encircling the caudal main olfactory bulb in rodents. Initially defined by the expression of various immunohistochemical markers, they are now better understood in the context of the specialized chemosensory neurons of the main olfactory epithelium and Grueneberg ganglion that innervate them.
Recent Smell Loss Is the Best Predictor of COVID-19 Among Individuals With Recent Respiratory Symptoms
Chemical SensesRichard C. Gerkin, et al.
2021-01-01
In a preregistered, cross-sectional study, we investigated whether olfactory loss is a reliable predictor of COVID-19 using a crowdsourced questionnaire in 23 languages to assess symptoms in individuals self-reporting recent respiratory illness. We quantified changes in chemosensory abilities during the course of the respiratory illness using 0-100 visual analog scales (VAS) for participants reporting a positive (C19+; n = 4148) or negative (C19-; n = 546) COVID-19 laboratory test outcome.
Social