- This event has passed.
Virtual Science Pub with Denesa Lockwood: Can You Smell Me Now?
February 16, 2021 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
WHAT: Virtual Science Pub: Can You Smell Me Now? How COVID-19 Affects Our Sense of Smell and Taste with OHSU Behavioral Neuroscientist and Northwest Noggin Board member Dr. Denesa Lockwood!
WHERE: Virtual OMSI Science Pub – Facebook Live & YouTube; REGISTER HERE
WHEN: FEB 16, 2021 | Virtual Edition | 6:30-8:30PM
Currently touted as one of the more noticeable symptoms of COVID-19 infection, lack of smell has also been associated with many other conditions and can severely impact the sufferer. How does this condition arise, especially with a virus that seems to mostly impact the respiratory system? In this talk, neuroscientist Denesa Lockwood will explore how the senses of smell and taste are intertwined with the brain and review current scientific findings on how and why the coronaviruses affect olfactory neurons.
Denesa Lockwood, Ph.D. is a behavioral neuroscientist, studying behavior and the underlying neural mechanisms by which behavior arises. She graduated from Western Oregon University and then completed her graduate work at Florida State University, with a dissertation focused on conditioned taste aversion. She currently studies the genetic underpinnings of alcohol addiction, but remains interested in learning and memory, including sensory memories.
When she’s not getting mice drunk in the lab, Denesa stays busy wrangling three children, two dogs, and a constantly varying number of fish. She has been an active volunteer and voice for broader science dissemination into the community, heading up the March for Science efforts here in Portland for several years running. She also is a board member of the non-profit educational outreach group NW NOGGIN, where she has volunteered across the country teaching students of all ages about the basics of neuroscience, and she recently (2019) received the Sigma Xi Outstanding Supporter of Research award.