GCCR Urges People With Respiratory Illness (COVID-19, Cold, Flu) to Participate in Global Survey on Smell or Taste Loss

DreamAir and BélAir scent engineer joined in March 2020 the Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR) in rapid response to COVID-19. The GCCR was founded to fulfill an urgent need for evidence-based assessment for smell and taste loss during the current pandemic. Thousands of answers collected, but science needs thousands more.

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GCCR

Apr 29, 2020, 12:15 ET

NEW YORK, April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a wave of reports from patients and healthcare workers about rapid onset smell loss, health organizations across continents have recognized anosmia as associated with COVID-19, even in the absence of other symptoms. More than 400 scientists from 52 countries have united in the Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR) to investigate the connection between the three chemical senses, including smell and taste, and COVID-19.

Christophe Laudamiel of DreamAir Studios in New York City and BélAir Lab in Tokyo is a member of this group of clinicians, neurobiologists, data scientists and cognitive researchers who designed an investigative survey to reach out to the public globally. The survey has been translated into 24 languages and is easily accessible to private individuals and clinicians on the GCCR website.

Laudamiel urges anyone who has recently experienced symptoms of, or thinks has had, a respiratory illness such as a cold, the flu or COVID-19 to complete the survey: http://gcchemosensr.org/.

The questions are formulated in non-jargon terms for a public from all cultural backgrounds and walks of life. The anonymous survey will take about 10 minutes and is available in Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and in the complete eight Indian languages.

"We are counting on the participation of thousands of patients per country," Prof. Jérome Golebiowski, Cote d'Azur University-France and one of GCCR's representatives, explains. "We will be able to compare symptoms between countries as well." If those olfactory patterns occur as early in the development of the disease as the team might think, it "could lead to recommending self-isolation to corresponding patients and getting tested for COVID-19," Dr. Kathrin Ohla, Research Center Juelich and GCCR coordinator for Germany, estimates. She notes that "cultural differences could have a role in relating personal experiences." The global questionnaire was conceived with this in mind.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GCCR and CONTACT SHEET :

Ethics: The study has been approved by The Human Subjects' Office of Penn State University and complies with EU rules, as well as global ethical standards. The data collected is stored on EU and USA-compliant servers located in Canada.

Country contacts by order of country:

GCCR direct contact (France): Prof. Jérome Golebiowski (Université Cote d'Azur) [email protected]

GCCR direct contact (Germany): Dr. rer. Nat Kathrin Ohla (Research Center Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine) [email protected]

GCCR direct contact (Italy): Dr. Antonella Di Pizio (Leibniz-Institute LSB@TUM) [email protected]

GCCR direct contact (Japan): Dr. Masako Okamoto (The University of Tokyo) [email protected]

GCCR contacts for other countries are available.

Twitter: @GCChemosensoryR

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GCChemosensoryR/

The Global Consortium of Chemosensory Researchers (GCCR) defines, coordinates, and disseminates global efforts to advance the scientific understanding and clinical practice related to the chemical senses (smell, taste and chemesthesis). The non-for-profit consortium includes transdisciplinary scientists, clinicians and patient advocates from more than 50 countries across all six populated continents. The GCCR was founded in March 2020 to fulfill an urgent need for evidence-based assessment for smell and taste loss during the current pandemic. It analyzes worldwide information to combat the spread of COVID-19. The GCCR leadership team includes John Hayes (PhD, Penn State, USA), Thomas Hummel (MD, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany), Chrissi Kelly (Founder, AbScent.org, UK), Steve Munger (PhD, University of Florida, USA), Masha Niv (PhD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel), Kathrin Ohla, (PhD, Research Center Juelich, Germany), Valentina Parma (GCCR Chair and PhD, Temple University, USA), Danielle Reed (PhD, Monell Chemical Senses Center, USA) and Maria Veldhuizen (PhD, Mersin University, Turkey).

Christophe Laudamiel is a master perfumer and scent engineer at DreamAir (New York) and BélAir Lab (Tokyo). An early chemist champion and teaching fellow at MIT, he founded the non-profit Academy of Perfumery and Aromatics to foster education and perfume theory, collaborating regularly with academia. He has created fine fragrances for well-known fashion houses, celebrities and several World Economic Forums. Christophe's scents entered the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University Archives (USA) and the International Perfumery Museum in Grasse (France). He was named "Perfumer of the Future" in 2018 by Perfumers & Flavorists magazine. An inventor on 17 patents and recipient of numerous medals and awards, from a CNRS award (1986) to a lifetime achievement award from the Institute of Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles, he often combines scent sculptures with unique technologies. His scent installations have been displayed at institutions such as Basel, Bordeaux, Cooper Hewitt and Guggenheim museums, or for the official USA and Swiss Pavilions at world exhibitions.