What if a change in taste or smell could be the first sign of something much bigger? In this talk, Dr. Paule Joseph shares the personal story of her mother-in-law’s legendary cooking and how subtle shifts in flavor revealed early signs of dementia—showing how our senses hold powerful clues about brain health. Blending science and story, she reveals why paying attention to smell loss can help us protect memory, health, and connection.? Website: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paule_Valery_Joseph ? Instagram: @Dr_PauleJoseph ? LinkedIn: Dr. Paule Valery Joseph ? X/Twitter: @Dr_paulevj #BrainHealth #SmellLoss #DementiaAwareness #SensoryScience #TEDx #TEDxCincinnati #TEDxtalk Dr. Paule Valery Joseph is a nurse scientist, Guggenheim Fellow, and 2025 Presidential Leadership Scholar whose work explores how smell and taste shape health, disease memory, and human connection. A 2024 TED Fellow, her TED fellows film/talk Why Smell Matters More Than You Think introduced global audiences to the overlooked power of scent. She has since expanded that vision in her TEDx talk, Clues in Our Senses: Smell Loss and Brain Health, where she shares the story of her mother-in-law’s cooking and how subtle changes in taste and smell signaled the early stages of dementia. A nurse practitioner and leading chemosensory researcher, Dr. Joseph has led studies on how sensory changes are linked to obesity, alcohol use, and neurological disease. She holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where she trained at the Monell Chemical Senses Center. https://www.ted.com/speakers/paule_joseph This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx