Robin Dando

247 Stocking Hall
(607) 254-3319

The bulk of my training prior to joining Cornell was in Physics, Physiology and Neuroscience. I work on the basic interactions between our body and the food we consume, and how this shapes our preference for foods. The mammalian taste system consists of many complex events which take a simple receptor activation at the taste bud to a rich and complex emotional response such as that elicited by our favorite foods. As yet little is known about the true nature or depth of these interactions. My lab uses techniques from physiology and molecular biology, as well as human sensory testing, to elucidate the nature of some of these processes, and how they can in turn be swayed by factors such as our body’s physiology, our surroundings, or even by our mood.

Teaching Focus

Robin teaches the Sensory Evaluation of Foods course FDSC4100, and The Biology of Food Perception FDSC 6940.

Graduate Fields

Food Science and Technology
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Neurobiology and Behavior
Pharmacology

Education

Post Doc – University of Miami – 2012
PhD Applied Physics – University of South Florida – 2007
MSc Nanotechnology – University of Sheffield – 2002
BSc (Hons) Physics – Sheffield Hallam University – 2001

Selected Publications

Stelick, A., Penano, A. G., Riak, A. C., & Dando, R. (2018). Dynamic Context Sensory Testing–A Proof of Concept Study Bringing Virtual Reality to the Sensory Booth. Journal of food science, 83(8) 2047-2051

Stelick, A., & Dando, R. (2018). Thinking outside the booth-the eating environment, context and ecological validity in sensory and consumer research. Current Opinion in Food Science, 21: 26-31

Noel C, Finlayson G and Dando R (2018) Prolonged exposure to monosodium glutamate decreases perceived umami taste in females and diminishes appetite for savory foods regardless of sex. Journal of Nutrition, 148 (6), 980-988

Sugrue M & Dando R (2018) Cross Modal Influence of Color from both Sample and Packaging Alters Perceived Flavor of Hard Cider. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 124:254–260

Kaufman A & Dando R (2018) Inflammation arising from obesity reduces taste bud abundance and inhibits renewal. PLOS Biology, 16 (3), e2001959

Lv W, Finlayson G & Dando R (2018) Sleep, food cravings and taste. Appetite, 125, 210-216

Choo, E., & Dando, R. (2018). No detriment in taste response or expression in offspring of mice fed representative levels of sucrose or non-caloric sucralose while pregnant. Physiology & behavior, 184, 39-45.

Chang, A. C., & Dando, R. (2018). Exposure to light-emitting diodes may be more damaging to the sensory properties of fat-free milk than exposure to fluorescent light. Journal of dairy science, 101(1), 154-163.

Ravanfar R, Comunian T, Dando R & Abbaspourrad A (2018) Optimization of Microcapsules Shell Structure to Preserve Labile Compounds: A Comparison between Microfluidics and Conventional Homogenization Method Food Chem 241, 460-467.

Noel, C. A., Cassano, P. A., & Dando, R. (2017). College-Aged Males Experience Attenuated Sweet and Salty Taste with Modest Weight Gain. The Journal of Nutrition, 147(10), 1885-1891.

Noel C, Sugrue M & Dando R (2017) Pharmacologically inhibiting taste function causes subjects to seek out more intense, higher calorie stimuli Appetite 117: 74-81

Choo E, Picket B & Dando R (2017) Caffeine can reduce perceived sweet taste in humans, supporting evidence that adenosine receptors modulate taste J Food Sci 82(9): 2177–218

Comunian, T. A., Ravanfar, R., de Castro, I. A., Dando, R., Favaro-Trindade, C. S., & Abbaspourrad, A. (2017). Improving oxidative stability of echium oil emulsions fabricated by Microfluidics: Effect of ionic gelation and phenolic compounds. Food Chem, 233, 125-134.

Choo E & Dando R (2017) The Impact of Pregnancy on Taste Function. Chemical Senses 42(4): 279-286

Kapaun CL & Dando R (2017) Deconvoluting physical and chemical heat: temperature and spiciness influence flavor differently. Physiology and Behavior 170: 54–61

Martin N, Carey N, Murphy S, Kent D, Bang J, Stubbs T, Wiedmann M, & Dando R (2016) Exposure of fluid milk to LED light negatively affects consumer perception and alters underlying sensory properties. Journal of Dairy Science 99:6, 4309-4324

De Jesus T & Dando R (2016) The Need for Study of Led Light’s Capacity to Damage Fluid Milk. Journal of Food Processing and Dairy Technology 5:1 ePub ahead of print

Noel C and Dando R (2015) The effect of emotional state on taste perception. Appetite 95: 89-95

Dando R (2015) The plasticity of taste function links the appetitive taste of fats with obesity. Chemosensory Perception 8(2): 53-60

Yan K and Dando R (2015) A crossmodal role for audition in taste perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 41(3): 590-596

Dando R*, Pereira E*, Kurian M*, Barro-Soria R, Chaudhari N and Roper SD (2015) A Permeability Barrier Surrounds Taste Buds in Lingual Epithelia. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 308(1), C21-C32

Dando R and Roper SD (2012) Acetylcholine is released from taste bud cells and augments taste responses. J Physiol 590 (13) 3009-3017

Dando R* , Dvorianchikov G*, Pereira E , Chaudhari N and Roper SD (2012) Adenosine functions endogenously to shape taste signaling through A2B receptors in the taste bud. J Neurosci 32(1):322-330 *equal contribution

Dando R and Roper SD (2011) Controlling what we eat: How circulating peptide hormones influence taste and appetite. The Biochemist 33(6):14-17

Rodriguez-Diaz R*, Dando R*, Huang YJ, Roper SD, Berggren PO, Caicedo A (2012) Real time detection of acetylcholine release from the human endocrine pancreas. Nature Protocols 7(6) 1015-1023 *equal contribution

Rodriguez-Diaz R*, Dando R*, Jacques-Silva MC, Fachado A, Molina J, Berggren PO, Roper SD, Caicedo A (2011) Acetylcholine is released by human alpha cells as a paracrine signal to prime beta cell insulin secretion. Nature Medicine 17(7):888-92 *equal contribution

Dando R (2010) Endogenous peripheral neuromodulators of the mammalian taste bud. J Neurophysiol 104: 1835-1837

Dando R (2009) Examining the neglected side of calcium regulation in taste cells. J Physiol 587(23) 5523-5524

Dando R and Roper SD (2009) Cell-to-cell communication in taste buds via ATP signaling and pannexin gap junction hemichannels. J Physiol 587(24): 5899-906

Huang YJ, Dando R and Roper SD (2009) Autocrine and paracrine roles for ATP and Serotonin in mouse taste buds. J Neurosci, 29(44):13909-18