2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

What's That Smell?: Testing Scent Recognizability

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Sydney Boutros and Dr. Peter Mullner

Abstract

This project explores how olfactory function can be used as an early indicator of brain health through an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. Research has shown that changes in smell are often one of the earliest signs of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. These changes occur 5-10 years before the hallmark symptoms—like memory loss, confusion, and personality changes—appear. This is critical, as brain pathology has already progressed significantly by the time of diagnosis, making it harder to treat this disease. There is a desperate need for earlier identification and earlier intervention. Because of this, we are focused on testing individuals’ ability to identify different scents in a VR setting with the goal of creating an easier, faster way to determine who is at risk of cognitive decline. To achieve our goal, we must first explore a range of odors that are recognizable across a wide population. Odor recognition is highly dependent on a person’s experiences. One person may identify a scent easily while another does not recognize it at all. Suitable scents are known by many, but not so easily identifiable that we cannot discriminate between levels of scent recognition capacity. Our team is conducting research to choose the scents that will be used in our VR odor identification game. This is an interdisciplinary effort, and our research is ongoing.

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