Jessica Gaby completed postdoctoral training at Rutgers University and is presently an assistant professor of psychology at Middle Tennessee State University. [ResearchGate] [LinkedIn]
My current research is focused on human social olfaction. Specifically, my work aims to examine two interconnected questions: 1) how might perfumes and other fragrances be influencing the information we know to be contained in human body odor, and 2) are traditional methods of human body odor research representative of the type of olfactory information we encounter in ecologically relevant social interactions? I have recently returned from a year as a Scholar in Residence at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, PA, where I employed a classical conditioning paradigm to explore how perfume might affect individual body odor recognition. Currently, I am using a novel method of social olfactory research in which participants smell present others – as well as more traditional body odor samples – in order to compare how sample type and presentation may affect social impressions of others. I hope to be able to translate some of my work into fMRI studies examining the differences in perception between natural and perfumed body odors of individuals, and I am actively seeking collaborators for this work. My other interests revolve around the ways that culturally influenced fragrance and dietary choices, combined with body odor, may influence friendship formation and maintenance.