Director and President
Monell Chemical Senses Center
Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD is Director & President of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. Dr. Margolskee has been a pioneer in the application of molecular biology and transgenic animal models to the study of taste transduction and chemosensation. He has made numerous seminal discoveries in the taste field, including the identification and molecular cloning of taste specific receptors, G proteins, channels and other taste signal transduction elements. Dr. Margolskee’s research focus has been on the molecular mechanisms of taste transduction, utilizing molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, electrophysiology and transgenesis to study the mechanisms of signal transduction in mammalian taste cells. He has also been a pioneer in the function of taste-like cells in gut, airways and most recently in gingiva.