Paule Valery Joseph, CRNP, Ph.D.

Paule Valery Joseph, CRNP, MBA, Ph.D., is Lasker Clinical Research Scholar Tenure Track Clinical Investigator and co-Director of the National Smell and Taste Center. She is also Chief of the Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet) in Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research (DICBR) at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism with a joint appointment at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr. Joseph is conducting preclinical, clinical, and translational studies to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and management of chemosensory disorders.

The Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet) investigates the complex interactions between chemosensation (taste, smell, and chemesthesis), metabolic regulation, and brain function. Our research focuses on how sensory perception influences eating behavior, metabolic health, and neurological disorders, particularly in conditions such as obesity, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and neurodegenerative diseases. Through clinical and translational research, our lab aims to bridge this knowledge gap, ultimately paving the way for new interventions to improve metabolic and neurological health. To achieve this goal, our laboratory conducts clinical-translational inpatient and outpatient studies. We use a combination of biobehavioral and innovative validated psychophysical methods for human studies. We also use imaging brain techniques, such as fMRI for olfaction and gustation. To provide mechanistic insight into our clinical research, we are also conducting preclinical studies using rodent models to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms that influence how the brain perceives the chemical senses (taste, smell, chemesthesis) and ingestive behavior in a state of disease (e.g., obesity and substance use disorders). We are also focused on chemosensory dysfunction as an early biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases; AI-driven models for personalized sensory mapping; and VR-based simulations for taste and smell research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she examined the effects of the virus on taste and smell and co-founded the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research. She is a recognized nationally and internationally as figure in sensory science research. Her work has been showcased in top-tier academic journals and captured the media's attention, such as TIME, NPR, and the New York Times among others. Her exemplary contributions have been recognized by numerous global organizations, including the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. She was inducted into the Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2024, and received Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research Protégé Award, among others. Dr. Joseph is a 2024 TED Fellow, with her TED talk featured prominently online, and has been named a 2025 Presidential Leadership Scholar.

After earning her Ph.D. in Nursing with a focus in Genomics from the University of Pennsylvania and conducting her research at The Monell Chemical Senses Center, Dr. Paule Joseph completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Nursing Research, in the laboratory of Dr. Wendy Henderson. Her postdoctoral research focused on combining clinical and basic research in a single research program by examining the brain-gut interactions related to gastrointestinal disorders (i.e., obesity and diabetes). In 2017, she was appointed as Assistant Clinical Investigator and Chief of the Sensory Science and Metabolism Unit (SenSMet) in the NINR Division of Intramural Research. Dr. Joseph has a Master's of Science as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Pace University, an AAS in Nursing at Hostos Community College, and a BSN from the College of New Rochelle and MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. Dr. Joseph is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Transcultural Nursing Society. She is also a certified nurse practitioner with prescribing privileges at the NIH Clinical Center.

Joseph PV, Reed DR, Mennella JA. Individual Differences Among Children in Sucrose Detection Thresholds: Relationship With Age, Gender, and Bitter Taste Genotype. Nurs Res. 2016 Jan-Feb;65(1):3-12. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000138. PMID: 26633761; PMCID: PMC4679349.
 
Cooper KW, Brann DH, Farruggia MC, Bhutani S, Pellegrino R, Tsukahara T, Weinreb C, Joseph PV, Larson ED, Parma V, Albers MW, Barlow LA, Datta SR, Di Pizio A. COVID-19 and the Chemical Senses: Supporting Players Take Center Stage. Neuron. 2020 Jul 22;107(2):219-233. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.032. Epub 2020 Jul 1. PMID: 32640192; PMCID: PMC7328585.

Gerkin RC, Ohla K, Veldhuizen MG, Joseph PV, et al. Recent smell loss is the best predictor of COVID-19: a preregistered, cross-sectional study. Chemical Senses, bjaa081, https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa081 PMID: 32743605; PMCID: PMC7386529. 

Joseph PV, Nolden A, Kober KM, Paul SM, Cooper BA, Conley YP, Hammer MJ, Wright F, Levine JD, Miaskowski C. Fatigue, Stress, and Functional Status are Associated With Taste Changes in Oncology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Nov 28:S0885-3924(20)30899-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.11.029. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33259906.
 
Joseph PV, Wang Y, Fourie NH, Henderson WA. A computational framework for predicting obesity risk based on optimizing and integrating genetic risk score and gene expression profiles. PLoS One. 2018 May 24;13(5):e0197843. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197843. PMID: 29795655; PMCID: PMC5993110.
 
Joseph PV, Davidson HR, Boulineaux CM, Fourie NH, Franks AT, Abey SK, Henderson WA. Eating Behavior, Stress, and Adiposity: Discordance Between Perception and Physiology. Biol Res Nurs. 2018 Oct;20(5):531-540. doi: 10.1177/1099800418779460. Epub 2018 May 31. PMID: 29852756; PMCID: PMC6346320.
 
Joseph PV, Jaime-Lara RB, Wang Y, Xiang L, Henderson WA. Comprehensive and Systematic Analysis of Gene Expression Patterns Associated with Body Mass Index. Sci Rep. 2019 May 15;9(1):7447. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-43881-5. PMID: 31092860; PMCID: PMC6520409.
 
Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, Cai H, Cassimatis T, Chen KY, Chung ST, Costa E, Courville A, Darcey V, Fletcher LA, Forde CG, Gharib AM, Guo J, Howard R, Joseph PV, McGehee S, Ouwerkerk R, Raisinger K, Rozga I, Stagliano M, Walter M, Walter PJ, Yang S, Zhou M. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Cell Metab. 2019 Jul 2;30(1):67-77.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008. Epub 2019 May 16. Erratum in: Cell Metab. 2019 Jul 2;30(1):226. Erratum in: Cell Metab. 2020 Oct 6;32(4):690. PMID: 31105044.
 
Kure Liu C, Joseph PV, Feldman DE, Kroll DS, Burns JA, Manza P, Volkow ND, Wang GJ. Brain Imaging of Taste Perception in Obesity: a Review. Curr Nutr Rep. 2019 Jun;8(2):108-119. doi: 10.1007/s13668-019-0269-y. PMID: 30945140; PMCID: PMC6486899.