Prof. Alan Spector
Prof. Alan Spector, PhD is currently a Distinguished Research Professor at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. His research primarily focuses on the neural basis of gustation, animal psychophysics, sensory processes, and the neural control of ingestive behaviour, with a particular emphasis on taste preferences and aversions.
Prof. Spector’s research portfolio includes studying taste responsiveness in mice with deleted taste receptors, changes in taste and eating behaviour after gastric bypass surgery, the impact of targeted damage to central gustatory structures, and the functional consequences of gustatory nerve transection and regeneration. Currently his lab is examining the behavioural consequences of chronic administration of second generation obesity drugs.
Since 2016, our group has been collaborating with Prof. Spector, focusing on advancing research in the field of ingestive behaviour. This collaboration includes joint preparation of research grants, development of research plans, experimental design, data interpretation, manuscript writing, and active participation in the annual research retreats organized by Prof. Bueter, which facilitates the interaction of our international research network.
His renowned expertise in ingestive behaviour has been instrumental in shaping our translational research protocols, enabling us to bridge studies from rodent models to humans. His contributions are especially valuable in the analysis of microstructural parameters of ingestive behaviour in humans, an area closely linked to the neural control of eating behaviour, for which Prof. Spector is a recognized global authority.