Unlikely Collaborators Hosts Flavor Chemist Melissa Conklin for a Spark Salon Exploring the Surprising Science of Taste, Scent, Memory, and Perception
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The smell of a particular food can transport us instantly to another place or time.
A flavor can remind us of childhood, evoke someone we love, or trigger an emotional response before we even understand why.
But if we think taste happens primarily on our tongues, we are missing much of the story.
On Tuesday, October 13, Unlikely Collaborators will welcome flavor chemist Melissa Conklin for a Spark Salon exploring the surprising science behind taste and scent and what our sensory experiences can reveal about the way we perceive reality.
Titled Taste, Scent, and Perception Box, the evening will explore how flavor is not simply something we taste. It is an experience constructed through interactions among the brain, body, sensory signals, memory, expectation, culture, context, and personal history.
At the heart of the conversation is a fascinating question: If two people encounter the same food and experience it completely differently, what does that reveal about how the brain and body construct the world that appears to each of us?
Blending chemistry, neuroscience, and storytelling, Conklin will explore how the brain transforms molecules into experiences filled with meaning. While our taste buds detect basic tastes, much of what we experience as flavor is shaped by aroma and by the memories, expectations, associations, and emotions we bring to the experience.
That helps explain why the same flavor can tell a completely different story to each of us.
A scent that feels comforting to one person might be unpleasant to another. A familiar food can carry memories of family, culture, celebration, or loss. Even what we expect something to taste like can influence what we ultimately experience.
Through the lens of the Perception Box™ framework, these differences offer a tangible example of how each of us experiences the world through a lens shaped by our individual histories. What feels like an objective sensory experience is deeply intertwined with memory, emotion, expectation, and meaning.
Drawing from a decade of experience creating flavors, Conklin will take audiences inside the art and science of flavor chemistry, exploring the chemistry of aroma and taste molecules, the science of olfaction, and the remarkable role the brain plays in turning sensory information into personal experience.
The evening invites audiences to reconsider something they do every day without much thought: taste. In doing so, it offers a surprising window into a much larger question about perception itself and why the same world can feel so different to each of us.
The evening will take place in person at Unlikely Collaborators’ Santa Monica headquarters and will also be livestreamed online.
Event Schedule
5:00 p.m. — Doors open and reception
6:00 p.m. — Program begins promptly (late entry not permitted)
7:00 p.m. — Reception
Cost: Free (registration required)
About Melissa Conklin
Melissa Conklin is a flavor chemist with ten years of experience at TasteWorks Flavors, where she channels her curiosity into the art and science of flavor creation, crafting innovative flavors for everything from snacks to beverages. She holds a degree in Chemical Biology from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Master of Business and Science with a concentration in Personal Care Science from Rutgers University, combining scientific expertise with a deep passion for creativity and art.
For Conklin, flavor creation goes beyond formulation. It is about telling stories through our senses. She believes every flavor has the power to evoke memories, emotions, and experiences. By exploring the science of olfaction, the chemistry of aroma and taste molecules, and the role memory and culture play in flavor perception, she creates flavors that connect with people in meaningful ways.
Outside the lab, Conklin draws inspiration from nature, fashion, and sports. Whether she is playing soccer or basketball, exploring New York City’s vibrant food and arts scene, or hiking through national parks, she finds creativity in the world around her. She is also the founder of Siryns, a women’s wellness beverage brand that brings together her passion for flavor science and community building.
For Conklin, flavor chemistry offers a unique lens through which to explore the endless possibilities of science, creativity, and human connection.
About Spark Salons
Spark Salons are a signature program of Unlikely Collaborators, the nonprofit founded by Elizabeth R. Koch. These gatherings bring together grantees, researchers, artists, and collaborators for conversations that challenge perspectives and deepen connections.
Past Spark Salon speakers have included Harris III; Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD; Kim Shapira, MS, RD; John Bucher; Michael Norton, PhD; Vijay Gupta; Ellen Bennett; Candy Chang; Alexandra Samuel, PhD; Brennan Wood; Donna L. Schuurman, EdD; Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD; Wendy Suzuki, PhD; Nick Foster, RDI; Jade Wu, PhD; Krista Tippett; Eliot Stein; Theresa MacPhail, PhD; Ian Manuel; Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD; Cara Natterson, MD; Andrew Holecek, PhD; Katherine Center; Marisa T. Cohen, PhD; Valerie Steele, PhD; Cassandra Vieten, PhD; Jonathan Schooler, PhD; and Stephen Asma, PhD.
Watch the Spark Salons Trailer
About Unlikely Collaborators
Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit focused on helping people better understand themselves and each other. Founded and led by CEO Elizabeth R. Koch, the organization is built around the Perception Box™ framework, the idea that our beliefs, experiences, emotions, and conditioning shape how we interpret ourselves and the world around us. By becoming aware of that lens, we create more space for reflection, flexibility, and meaningful change.
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