# Intensive longitudinal assessment of human olfaction

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2024 · $558,930

## Abstract

Summary
Olfactory (i.e., smell) disorders are incredibly impactful. Gas leaks and spoiled food are undetectable dangers.
Eating habits and the pleasure from food are compromised as meals become unpalatable. Affected individuals
can feel disconnected from other people and the world, contributing to an increased incidence of depression.
Changes in olfactory function may also be early indicators of other serious health problems such as
rhinosinusitis, skull base tumors, cerebrospinal fluid leaks, viral infection, or neurodegenerative diseases.
Routine testing of olfactory function can facilitate the early detection of smell disorders and comorbidities.
Research studies and clinical assessments of the human sense of smell typically operate under the
assumption that – barring insult from injury or disease – olfactory function is largely invariant on the time scale
of hours, days, and even months. However, this common assumption is demonstratively false. For example,
smell function varies on short timeframes like circadian cycles, and long timeframes like normal aging. Thus,
clinicians and researchers need a better understanding of normal variation in olfactory ability if they are to
accurately differentiate pathological dysfunction from normal fluctuations in function. Our proposed study will
document typical olfactory fluctuations in healthy people, in people experiencing natural physiological changes
or in those with smell disorders. In Aim 1, we will determine how olfactory detection thresholds (OdorDTs)
fluctuate on a daily, monthly and yearly basis in a large age-, sex- and race-diverse cohort of healthy adults. In
Aim 2, we will measure daily and weekly Odor DT changes accompanying either the menstrual cycle or
pregnancy. Aim 3 will focus on determining daily, monthly and yearly fluctuations in OdorDT in people with
quantitative smell disorders (i.e., anosmia or hyposmia) associated with previous upper respiratory viral
infections or with Parkinson's disease. Collectively, these studies will provide the first intensive longitudinal
assessment of olfactory function in healthy people and those with olfactory disorders. Further, they will result in
an invaluable open resource for clinicians and researchers who are assessing olfactory function in different
contexts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10826383
- **Project number:** 1R01DC021604-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** John Edward Hayes
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $558,930
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-09 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10826383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10826383, Intensive longitudinal assessment of human olfaction (1R01DC021604-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10826383. Licensed CC0.

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