Roland Salesse is an agricultural engineer with a doctorate in science. He founded and directs the Neurobiology of Olfaction laboratory at the INRAE center in Jouy-en-Josas.
He now devotes his time to disseminating scientific culture, through a number of associations such as S[cube] in Paris-Saclay, and Nez en Herbe, which promotes olfactory awareness in young children (in particular with Cap Enfants day-care centers). He is a guest speaker at conferences, in the media and on scientific advisory boards for exhibitions (Le Banquet at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie; Les Parfums d'Orient at the Institut du Monde Arabe).
He has published several books with QUAE: "Odorat et Goût" (with Rémi Gervais, 2012). Then he wrote "Faut-il sentir bon pour séduire?" (2015, republished in 2019) and "Le Cerveau Cuisinier" (35th Prix Roberval de l'Université de Compiègne, higher education category in 2022, 2nd edition in 2024). Latest book, co-written with Christophe Lavelle "De l'assiette au cerveau" published by Ateliers d'Argol (2023).
In his talk, Roland Salesse will present a lecture inspired by the "cooking brain": how chemical signals speak to the brain, and how it processes them according to the individual's physiological state and cultural and social context. What role do microbiota, learning and epigenetic markers play? He will present a number of scientific results that illustrate the progress of research in these fields.
