Psychology assistant professor awarded NIH grant

Steven St. John, assistant professor of psychology, has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to research the extent to which cetylpiridinium chloride (CPC), a common surface disinfectant found in mouthwashes, affects a human’s ability to taste salt. St. John hopes not only to address questions about how the nervous system can represent the distinctiveness of environmental stimuli, but also to aid in the design of salt taste enhancers. These enhancers, which St. John says could eventually be used as a substitute for table salt in diets, would be a “benefit to society, considering salt’s association with such health concerns as hypertension.”

St. John, who has taught at Reed since 2001, will receive an award of $213,638 to support his research over the course of the three-year study.

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