Scholarly and Scientific Research

Academic Work

​Rachel Herz, Ph.D. has been conducting research on olfaction, emotion, cognition since 1990. She has published more than 105 original research papers, co-edited college textbooks, and received numerous grants and awards.

Rachel Herz has been on the faculty at Brown University since 2000. She was also a lecturer at Boston College between 2013-2022. Among her major contributions is her research showing how odor-evoked memory is unique compared to other memory experiences, how "aromatherapy" really works, and how emotional associations to odors can change perception and behavior.

Her work also addresses how language affects odor perception, the role that body-odor and fragrance play in heterosexual attraction, and the intersections between olfaction and technology. Rachel Herz also conducts research on the connections between taste sensitivity and emotional disgust, and how psychological, physiological, and contextual factors are involved in our experience of food and eating behavior.

Curriculum Vitae

Rachel Herz

College Textbooks

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Sample Research Publications:

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