Richard Doty


Richard L. Doty, Ph.D., is the director of the University of Pennsylvania Smell and Taste Center since 1980 and a world-renowned researcher in the field of olfactory functioning and dysfunction. He is a tenured Professor within the Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Doty is a pioneer in the developing and validating of practical quantitative tests of olfaction, including the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, or UPSIT.

Training

Doty received his B.S. degree from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, in 1966; his MA degree in conjunction with NASA’s Ames Research Center from California State University, San Jose, in 1968; and his Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University in 1971.
He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1971 to 1973 in the field of behavioral endocrinology, under the advisorship of Dr. Frank A. Beach. He was also Postdoctoral Fellow, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1973-1974 and Director of the Human Olfaction Section, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1974-1978.

Writing

Dr. Doty has published over 400 papers in peer-reviewed journals related to olfactory and gustatory function, and is the editor or author of nine books. He is the editor of the third edition of the Handbook of Olfaction and Gustation, considered to be the Bible of the chemical senses field. Among his other books are the Neurology of Olfaction, with Christopher Hawkes, and The Great Pheromone Myth.

Awards

Dr. Doty is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including a James A. Shannon Award from the National Institutes of Health, the "2000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century" Award from the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England, the Olfactory Research Fund's Scientific Sense of Smell Award, the William Osler Patient-Oriented Research Award from the University of Pennsylvania, the Society of Cosmetic Chemist's Service Award, and the Association of Chemoreception Science's Max Mozell Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Chemical Senses.

University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test

Doty is perhaps best known for having invented the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test or UPSIT.