Research Interests
My overall research goal is to establish a program that integrates analyses of taste perception with nutrient metabolism and the impact of dietary choices on health and disease in people. Research in my laboratory focuses on the analysis of individual differences in human taste perception and preferences, with an emphasis on sensory control of food and alcohol consumption. By using a combination of psychometrically sound validated sensory assessment methods, and metabolic research methods, we are currently studying or getting ready to study: 1) The effects of bariatric surgery-induced weight loss on taste perception, eating behavior, and alcohol drinking behavior, and metabolism 2) The effects of noncaloric sweeteners on taste preference and glucose homeostasis 3) Fat taste perception 4) The effects of head and neck cancer treatment on taste perception and eating behavior
Education
- 2008-2010, NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in Nutrition/Addiction, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine St. Louis, MO
- 2001-2004, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Chemical Senses, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA
- 2001, PhD, Chemistry Sciences, National University of Córdoba, Argentina
- 1995, Licentiate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National University of Córdoba, Argentina
Additional Campus Affiliations
Professor, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
Affiliate, Personalized Nutrition Initiative, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Affiliate, Center for Social & Behavioral Science
Recent Publications
Molina-Castro, M., Rowitz, B., & Pepino, M. Y. (2025). Glucagon-like peptide-1, fibroblast growth factor 21, and other endocrine responses to alcohol ingestion in women before and after metabolic surgery. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 16, Article 1575156. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2025.1575156
Munger, S. D., Zhao, K., Barlow, L. A., Boak, D., Boateng, K., Coldwell, S. E., Dalton, P., Doty, R. L., Douglas, J. E., Duffy, V., Franklin, F. A., Hayes, J. E., Hoffman, H. J., Hubert, P., Joseph, P. V., Justice, J. M., Levy, J. M., Mennella, J. A., Obrist, M., ... Parma, V. (2025). Towards universal chemosensory testing: Needs, barriers, and opportunities. Chemical Senses, 50, Article bjaf015. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaf015
Pepino, M. Y., & Amengual, J. (2025). Does sweet turn sour? How aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis in a preclinical model. Cell Metabolism, 37(5), 1043-1045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2025.04.003
Green, T., Mastinu, M., Wolf, A., Oleszkiewicz, A., Aronis, A., Hummel, T., Pepino, M. Y., & Niv, M. Y. (2024). Home screening of taste and oral trigeminal function: a feasibility study. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 281(9), 4835-4844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-024-08654-5
Molina-Castro, M., Seyedsadjadi, N., Nieto, D., Leggio, L., Rowitz, B., & Pepino, M. Y. (2024). The glucagon-like peptide-1 and other endocrine responses to alcohol ingestion in women with versus without metabolic surgery. Addiction Biology, 29(10), Article e13441. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.13441