How did your interest in the molecular biology of taste evolve?

In high school, I was intrigued by molecular-biology techniques and their potential in conducting neuroscience studies of brain function. In college and medical school, my professors questioned my interest in a field that didn't yet exist. But as a postdoc I saw colleagues use molecular techniques to study vision and smell. I realized taste was a complete 'black box': we had no idea how taste cells worked at the molecular level. So I saw it as an opportunity to identify and clone taste receptors.

What was your first 'aha' moment?

In late 1991, we found a new protein in taste cells that was closely related to the protein transducin, which transmits visual signals to the brain. At first we took this new insight into the taste system to mean that if transducin-like proteins were in taste cells, taste might be closely related to other sensory systems such as vision. We found that although the taste version of transducin (ultimately called gustducin) was structurally similar to transducin, only the signalling outputs of the two were similar.

What do you consider to be your greatest scientific achievement?

We molecularly characterized gustducin's involvement in sweet, bitter and umami (the monosodium glutamate taste). That is a stepping stone to further studies of taste signalling elements, which we have found are expressed elsewhere in the body and contribute to non-taste functions in the stomach and pancreas. At Monell, I plan to circle back to the role of these proteins in health and disease.

Do you get bombarded with questions from the food industry?

No, but I have been in some interesting forum discussions with molecular neuroscientists and chefs. It is interesting to compare notes, and at some point I'm sure we'll get to the level of understanding how taste works to apply it to the creation of a meal or dessert.

What do you value most about the scientific process?

There is a purity and a clarity in discovery and publication that is closely related to nature and truth.

What is the key to navigating a successful scientific career?

I wish I knew. I guess it is a matter of balance. You have to balance everything in your life — personal and professional, bench work and supervising others, what appeals to you and what will get funded. To be effective and successful, you must find a way to follow your heart and anticipate what the journal editors will say. But in the end, I think you can approach your career in different ways and end up coming to the same point.