Hanyi Zhuang
I joined UPGG in 2004. I am studying the genetic variation underlying mammalian odor perception using a heterologous odorant receptor expression system. Even though I have joined Dr. Hiro Matsunami's lab in the spring of 2005, where we focus on the molecular mechanisms of chemosensation, the interdisciplinary nature of the UPGG program and the collaborative environment of the Duke research community continue to provide me the opportunities to explore a variety of different fields as a graduate student.
It is known that there are enormous inter-individual differences in how people perceive smells. For example, while one may like the smell of gasoline, another person will find it repulsive. There have been many theories about the underlying reasons for these differences, such as experience, memory, and ethnic background. To approach this question, we used a sex steroid-derived odor, androstenone, the olfactory perception of which is known to vary greatly from person to person. Another interesting aspect of this compound is that it acts as pheromones in pigs and there is much discussion that it also acting as a pheromone in humans. As a rotation student in Dr. Matsunami's lab, I found a shorter form of an odorant receptor chaperone that enhances the expression of various odorant receptors in a heterologous cell system, which we refer to as "nose-in-a-dish." Using a combination of this in vitro odorant receptor expression system and human psychophysics, we recently demonstrated that a significant fraction of the variability in how we perceive androstenone depends on the genetic variation in an odoranr receptor for androstenone. In the next phase of our work, we will be asking what the implications of the ability to smell these compounds are for human social and sexual behavior. As a side project, I am also investigating the evolutionary implications of the androstenone receptor.
I am originally from South Florida. I graduated with a BA in Biology and Chemistry from New College of Florida in 2003. After graduation, I worked on the genetics of type II diabetes as a post-baccalaureate fellow at NIH.
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