Dan Han, Psy.D. ’08, has all the ingredients for a new, interdisciplinary approach to nutrition, flavor, and global sustainability. An alumnus of the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology program in Chicago, Han is pioneering the field of neurogastronomy, which focuses on understanding what flavor is and how chefs can harness it to create more socially conscious food.

He currently serves as the president of the International Society of Neurogastronomy, bringing together scientists and culinary experts. Han was featured in the April issue of Monitor on Psychology, a magazine published by the American Psychological Association.

“There will be 9 billion people to feed by 2050,” Han said. “To promote better human health at the individual level, and address the sustainability issue at the macro level, we have to get everybody at the table, pun intended.”

The long-term plan is to harness the power of flavor to improve world health through the molecular biology of olfaction, the biochemistry of food preparation, and the neuroscience of sensation and perception.

Read more about Han and the burgeoning field of neurogastronomy in the Monitor on Psychology article, “A Matter of Taste.”