Summerschool 2025

This Summerschool is supported by:  

SUMMER SCHOOL on HUMAN OLFACTION

July 27^th to August 1^st, of 2025 in Dresden, Germany.

Links: General information | Lecturers | Contact | Abstracts | Registration | Site map of the clinic | How to get to the guesthouse | Previous participants

General information

Aim: The conference is meant to provide an informal platform for scientific exchange between established scientists and younger researchers in the fields related to chemosensation. In addition, it is meant to provide participants with up-to-date knowledge on various aspects of the human chemical senses not only through seminars - there will be a strong focus on practical demonstrations and experiments (see program).

Location: It will be organized through the Smell & Taste Clinic of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the University of Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany, phone +49- 0351 458-4189. The meeting will start at the lecture hall on Fiedlerstrasse 42 (House number 91), and later continue at the Department of Otorhinolayrnygology (“HNO Klinik”, house number 5).

Fee for participation is 440 Euro (for details please click here). Participants with an industrial background pay 1000 Euro. This fee covers conference dinner at Schloss Eckberg, a barbecue, and an excursion to the surroundings of Dresden. The number of applicants will be limited to 24.

Sunday afternoon (27^th of July) there will also be a chance to join a guided city tour through Dresden (it is free). It starts at 13.00 at the Martin-Luther statue in front of the Frauenkirche (Neumarkt, 01067 Dresden). It will end after 2 hours at University Clinic, Department of Neuroradiology, Haus 5, ground floor, MRI.

Also, Sunday afternoon, between 3.30 and 5.00 p.m. you have a chance to visit the University Clinic, Department of Neuroradiology, Haus 4, ground floor, MRI, to join us in order to get structural images of your brain/olfactory bulb (this is also free).

Beginning at 5.30 p.m. Bob Pellegrino and Alexander Fjaeldstadt will talk (in the experimental kitchen) at the guesthouse at Gutenbergstrasse 6, 01307 Dresden about flavor and what it emans in ehaltha dn disease. This will involve some minor cooking and cocktails!

Finally There will be a get-together reception (barbecue style also with beer and softdrinks and salads!) at the guesthouse at Gutenbergstrasse 6, 01307 Dresden, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday excursion: bus leaves at 2:15 p.m. sharp in front of the lecture hall in house number 19.

Please let Thomas Hummel know in advance whether you would like to participate in either event.

The meeting will start with short 3-min presentations from every participant plus 1-2 min time for questions. Please focus your presentations on your research! Prior to the meeting, please send 1-3 powerpoint slides of your presentation to Thomas Hummel.

For housing please contact Ms Schönherr, phone +49-351-4445-60 or empfang@sbgdd.de. We booked rooms for participants at a guesthouse (Sächsische Bildungsgesellschaft für Umweltschutz und Chemieberufe Dresden mbH, Gutenbergstraße 6, 01307 Dresden, Germany) very close to the Clinic, and where we also receive a special rate of 60.00 Euro per night (including breakfast). It is planned that all participants will stay at this place.

Please find here the link to the form that you should submit to Ms Schönherr for room reservation.

Deadline for registration is the 15th of June 2025.Continuing medical education: Participation in all aspects of the meeting will get you xx points (Category C).

Please contact Thomas Hummel for details.

Timetable

 to come

Lecturers

The following lecturers will participate (needs to be confirmed): 

Christian Margot (Geneva, Switzerland) - structure-odor relations, assessment of odor thresholds

Basile Landis (Geneva, Switzerland) - physiology of the nose, gutsatory function

Nancy Rawson (Philadelphia, USA) - odor coding from the periphery to the olfactory bulb

Martin Witt (Poznan, Poland) - morphology of human olfaction

Benoist Schaal (Dijon, France) - chemosensory development

Maria Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) – cognition

Charlotte Sinding (Dijon, France) – odor mixtures

Antje Hähner (Dresden, Germany) – Parkinson’s Disease

Caroline Huart (Brussels, Belgium) – aging, neurodegeneration

Vanda Faria (Dresden, Germany) - functional imaging of chemosensory function

Alexander Fjaeldstad (Aarhus, Denmark) - the olfactory fingerprint

Wolfgang Georgsdorf (Berlin, Germany) - large-scale olfactory stimulation - the SMELLER

Akshita Joshi, Divesh Thaploo (Dresden, Germany) – imaging of olfactory structures

Johannes Frasnelli (Trois Riviere, Canada) – trigeminal function

Janine Gellrich (Dresden, Germany) – olfaction in childhood

Thomas Hummel (Dresden, Germany) – olfactory assessment, olfactory dysfunction

Agnieszka Sabiniewicz, Nicole Power Guerra (Dresden, Germany) – olfactory communication, body odors

Bob Pellegrino – (Philadelphia, USA) – olfactory perception

Matthias Laska (Linköpping, Sweden) – chemosensory discrimination

Hands-on courses:

Tin Hernandez (Dresden, Germany) – nasal airflow, rhinology

Mariano Mastinu  (Dresden, Germany) – taste test, gustatory event-related potentials

Coralie Mignot  (Dresden, Germany) – olfactory event-related potentials

Yling Mai  (Dresden, Germany) – nasal airflow

Zetian Li  (Dresden, Germany) – olfactory testing, trigeminal function

In addition to the demonstrations/experiments given by/performed together with each of the lecturers, among others there will be practical demonstrations of endoscopy of the nasal cavity, rhinomanometry, blood flow, acoustic rhinometry, recordings of electro-olfactograms, recordings of event-related potentials, and clinical aspects of olfactory dysfunction (diagnosis, treatment).

Contact

Thomas Hummel, M.D.

Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology

University of Dresden Medical School

Fetscherstr. 74 , 01307 Dresden, Germany

phone +49- 0351 458-4189 or -3197

mobile +49-1629-566-056

fax +49- 0351 458-7370

http://www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/hno/riechen

Abstracts

Matthias Laska, Ph.D.
Discrimination of odors? or: why does it smell different?

Humans are capable of discriminating between an enormous number of odors. The question of how the olfactory system achieves this amazing ability is one of the central topics in olfactory research and is of both theoretical and practical interest. This lecture aims at giving an overview with regard to the present knowledge about the neural basis of odor discrimination, odor structure-activity relationships, the psychophysical methods used to measure discrimination performance, and comparative data on discriminability of structurally related odorants. Experiments performed by the participants shall illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of different methods and their influence on the outcome of odor discrimination tasks.

Caroline Huart, M.D.
Idiopathic olfactory loss

Benoist Schaal, Ph.D.
Chemosensory development: Assessing olfaction in preverbal humans

The study of perception has generated contrasted models of development where nativist and constructivist views oppose. Olfaction is no exception, but this talk will present data that reconcile both conflicting parties in showing that the odour environment strongly influences olfactory development from very early on, long before birth. Data will be presented on the structural development and functional onset of olfaction, on the developmental course of olfactory sensitivity and discriminative power, and on learning and memory processes. The performance of the sense of smell will be described in the context of issues of communication and adaption, emphasising evolved and learned perceptual predispositions. Experimental paradigms to investigate odour perception and cognition will be described in early human development with special emphasis on the numerous issues that remain to be resolved. Finally, the value of using animal models will be highlighted to test hypotheses that are raised in the human, or conversely to import new questions to the understanding of our own species.

Nancy Rawson
Odor coding from the periphery to the olfactory bulb

This lecture will focus on the structure and function of olfactory receptors, and odor coding from the periphery to the olfactory bulb. We will explore the genetic variations that can underlie individual variations in perception, and factors that influence receptor expression, including insights gained through studies of smell loss resulting from SARS-Cov2. Methods used to identify the odors that bind with specific receptors will be presented, highlighting areas where challenges and gaps in our knowledge remain.  We will also discuss how new insights in odor coding are fueling progress toward the digitization of odors.

Maria Larsson
Olfactory cognition

This lecture will cover two aspects of human olfaction:
1: An overview of the behavioral and neural correlates of autobiographical odor memory. Research indicates that our memories for olfactory information differ from memories evoked by sight and hearing. Here, you will learn more about how and why they differ.
2:  Olfactory loss as a marker for impending cognitive decline, dementia, and death. A review of the current state of research will be presented.

Alexander Fjaeldstad and Bob Pellegrino
Flavor! 

Informal talk on basic principles for adding flavour to food, which applies for both anosmic and normosmics as a prequel to the barbecue dinner.

Martin Witt , M.D.
Morphology of Human Olfaction

Part 1. Introduction into “morphology of chemosensation”
You will be given a short introduction of what is known about structure/function relationship in vertebrate olfaction and taste at both macroscopic and microscopic levels.

Part 2. Gross Anatomy of the Human Nasal Cavity and the Human Brain
In the anatomical dissection room you will be confronted with some organs and tissues such as a real human brain and a dissected head, in which we will demonstrate the olfaction- and taste- related structures.

Antje Hähner
Olfactory dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders

Impairment of olfaction is a characteristic feature of many neurodegenerative diseases. This lecture summarizes the available information about olfactory function in distinct neurodegenerative conditions and possible therapeutic strategies. It indicates the advantageous use of olfactory testing as a contribution to early and differential diagnosis in Parkinson´s disease and Alzheimer´s dementia. Deficits in the sense of smell may precede clinical motor and cognitive symptoms by years and might be helpful in assessing the risk for developing these diseases in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. Numerous studies suggest that olfactory disturbances in Parkinson`s disease may have diagnostic utility for the differentiation from other movement disorders.

Thomas Hummel, M.D. and Basile Landis, M.D.
Olfactory and gustatory disorders
The chemical senses gustation and of olfaction are important not only for the detection of potential dangers such as fire or spoilt food, but also for the quality of life of human beings. In this article, we review the characteristics of the sense of smell and give a short overview about possible olfactory dysfunctions and their therapy. 

Charlotte Sinding, Ph.D.
Odour and Flavour objects

Odours result from the integration by our olfactory sense of a complex mixture of odorants. The lecture will cover the different levels of odour perception from the receptor to the “odour object” integration. Flavours result from the integration of odour objects, taste, trigeminal, visual, and auditory stimulations released during food consumption. Flavour is our mental representation of food. The final part of the lecture will present the theory about flavour perception and integration.

Bob Pellegrino, Ph.D.
Machine Learning and Modeling

While our advancements in understanding visual and auditory spaces have enabled us to instantly transmit images and voices across the globe via our smartphones, our understanding of olfactory spaces lags behind, prohibiting similar digital translation. To facilitate machine olfaction, we need better ways to capture, replicate, and deliver odors. Over the course of this lecture, we will track the progress made in this field, identify challenges, and envision a pathway toward digitizing odors.

Demonstrations on Sunday afternoon

Olfactory neuroanatomy on the basis of MR scans

Volumetric assessment of the olfactory bulb
N.N.

For 3 participants there will also be the possibility to get a scan of the olfactory bulb and the brain! Please contact Thomas Hummel!

Demonstrations on Monday and Tuesday

Assessment of nasal airflow and stimulus activated changes of nasal blood flow
Basile Landis, M.D.; Yling Mai

When contemplating olfactory problems and questions, one has to bear in mind that not only cells are busy picking up olfactory cues using molecules dispersed in our environment, but that a whole organ is designed to that task besides helping with respiration: the nose.
When the problem of olfactory loss in encountered, a thorough examination of the nose is necessary. During this demonstration, the nose will receive a closer look using rigid and flexible endoscopy technique. Special attention will be paid to the appearance of the vomeronasal duct, as well as to the nasoplatine duct. Major reasons of olfactory loss due to alterations of nasal conditions will be demonstrated. Attendants will have the chance to practise endoscopy to have a look at cavity that hosts the sensory system they deal with during this Summer School.
This course will also provide an introduction of the current nasal function measurement techniques. The methods presented will be: anterior rhinomanometry, acoustic rhinometry, and Laser Doppler Flowmetry. The techniques will be discussed and a practical demonstration will be given.

Psychophysical techniques for the assessment of chemonsensory functions
Caroline Huart, M.D.; Zetian Li

Assessing olfactory and trigeminal function is a key aspect not only in a clinical context but also in olfactory research. During the course different smell-tests will be demonstrated. The focus will be on the Sniffin Sticks test battery with its subtest for evaluating olfactory threshold, odor discrimination and odor identification, which can be experienced in this hands-on course. In addition two methods for assessing intranasal trigeminal function will be demonstrated.

Questionnaires in chemosensory research
Agnieszka Sabiniewicz, Ph.D.

Biopies, nasal endoscopy
Tin Hernandez, M.D.

Starting from known neuroanatomic correlates of olfaction, functional imaging methods will be introduced. The most widely used functional imaging method being MRI, we will concentrate on this modality. We will look at all steps of a fMRI-study, beginning with the methodological background, passing by the study-design, to finally interpret the results of the complex data analysis procedures. Besides the great advantage of good anatomical resolution, fMRI has a rather poor temporal resolution. Possible remedies for this problem will be discussed.

Event-related potential olfactometry and gustometry / Electro-olfactograms
Coralie Mignot, Ph.D., Akshita Joshi

EEG (Electroencephalography) is an electrophysiological method to record electrical activity of the brain, with a high temporal resolution. The brain processing of chemosensory perceptions could be measured and studied by the delivery of odors or taste solutions using olfactometers or gustometers. This practical course comprises the introduction to the principles of olfactometry and gustometry, demonstration of odor/taste stimulation and recording of event-related brain waves, and the time-frequency analytical method for olfactory EEG results. Specific applications of these measurements will also be discussed.

Electro-olfactogram (EOG) are local-field potentials generated in the olfactory epithelium in response to an olfactory stimulus providing neural information from the peripheral olfactory level. EOGs are commonly characterized by the response amplitude that is a negative peak denoted by N1 and by the response latency that relates to the time point of the amplitude (L1). During the practical course, it will be shown how to (i) prepare electrodes for recordings; (ii) localize the EOG recording site; (iii) administer odorous stimuli; (iv) visualize EOGs responses to odorants.

Taste testing; tests of retroansal olfactory function
Alexander Fjaeldstadt, M.D.; Mariano Mastinu, Ph.D.

Sponsoren

 to come

Registration

Conference fees can only be paid in advance by money transfer.

Money transfer - please send the money to the following account:

Receiver: Carl Gustav Carus Management GmbH, Fetscherstr. 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany

Important: Please indicate as purpose of the payment “SUMMERSCHOOL_2025” plus your name

IBAN:        DE 71 1203 0000 0011 2483 33

BIC:          BYLADEM 1001

Carl Gustav Carus Management GmbH is the organizer and is responsible for the contractual and financial processing on behalf of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the Dresden University Hospital.

Data protection

Your personal data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and used as part of our event organization.

You agree to this use with your registration. Further information on data protection can be found at www.carus-management.de/datenschutz  and www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/de/impressum#Datenschutz .

Any acquired data are only used for the organization of this conference.
Flyer: Status at the time of publication.

Sitemap of the clinic area

How to get to the guesthouse at Gutenbergstrasse 6, 01307 Dresden, Germany?

from main station

• Take the tram 3 until Pirnaischer Platz
• Take the bus line 62 direction Johannstadt until stop Gutenbergstrasse
• Taxi from the main station to the guesthouse is approximately 12 Euro

from airport

• Take the train from the airport to the station “Dresden Neustadt”
• There you take the tram 6 until stop “St.- Benno- Gymnasium”
• Take the bus line 62 direction Johannstadt until stop Gutenbergstrasse
• Taxi from the airport to the guesthouse is approximately 18 Euro

by car and from motorway A4

• Leave atjunction Dresden-Altstadt
• Turn right in direction of the center ( entrum)
• Head straight forward until the next big crossroad
• Go straight on at the next crossroad for about 500m
• Turn halfleft into the Bremer street
• Now always follow the main street and pass the congress centre and the famous Terrassenufer with the steamers
• After passing the Terrassenufer turn right at the next crossroad
• After about 600m, you turn right again into Pfeiffenhannsstrasse
• After about 250 m turn left again into Pfotenhauerstrasse
• After another 300 m turn left again into Gutenbergstrasse
• Find the Sächsische Bildungsgesellschaft (the dormitory) after 150 m on the right

Previous participants

 The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2021

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2019 

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2017

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2015

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2013

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2011

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2009

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2007

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2005

The following people participated in our previous Summerschool in 2003