VIDEO: 5 Questions With …UK’s Dan Han
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 21, 2016) — Self-professed foodie Dan Han, PsyD, is an expert on concussions -- and also half the brains behind the newly formed International Society of Neurogastronomy.
This organization, whose annual symposium will be Dec. 10, 2016, at the University of Kentucky, is a group of neuroscientists, chefs, and agricultural and food technology scientists that explores the concept of brain behavior in flavor perception and its implications for human health and agricultural sustainability. Its work aims to help patients with taste impairments due to disease or injury.
Han hatched the concept for the ISN during a chance meeting with internationally renowned chef Fred Morin at his famed Montreal restaurant, Joe Beef. Since then, scientists and food professionals from around the world have knocked at the ISN's door hoping for a slot on the symposium's dance card.
This year's symposium features rock stars from the food world such as Taria Camerino, an internationally renowned pastry chef with gustatory synesthesia, and Francois Chartier, considered the world's best sommelier. Chefs Fred Morin and Jehangir Mehta will return to reprise their roles in the neurogastronomy cook-off, where the judges are real patients with taste impairments. The agenda also includes scientists and authors who specialize in the biology and history of flavor perception.
About Dan Han:
Han was a high school assistant principal in the Chicago area before returning to his love of neuroscience, earning a degree from the Adler School of Professional Psychology and completing a residency at the Dreikurs Psychological Services Center and a fellowship at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
He boasts an impressive resume of appointments and honors, including chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Association of the U.S. Army, recipient of the Honor the Fallen Soldier Patriot Medallion by the Association of the U.S. Army, and the Flexner Master Educator Award. The National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and other funding organizations have supported his research into brain–behavior relationships.
Han tells us how he went from being a high school assistant principal to president of the International Society of Neurgastronomy in our monthly feature, "5 Questions With…."
The goal of the UKNow video series is to learn more about the people leading, teaching, healing, discovering and learning at the University of Kentucky. If you think of someone in our community who you would like to see featured, please email us. Who knows? We might just choose your suggestion for our next “5 Questions with …” conversation on UKNow!
