Dr. Seo conducts basic and applied research to address a better understanding of the role of sensory aspects in food perception and acceptance. The multidisciplinary research focuses on four areas: chemosensory perception and multisensory integration, new methodology of sensory and consumer testing, food neuropsychophysiology, and eating behavior. Additionally, the research program is designed to enhance knowledge and background of sensory disorder induced food perception and eating behavior.

Research Goals:

1. Understand the role of sensory cues in food perception and acceptance.
2. Determine the neural mechanism underlying chemosensory perception and mulitsensory integration.
3. Determine the effect of sensory disorder on food perception and eating behavior.
4. Develop new methodologies for sensory and consumer testing.
5. Develop instrumental methods showing a high correlation with human sensory perception. 

FDSC 4413/4411L: Sensory Evaluation of Food with Lab

FDSC 602V: Special Topics- Chemosensory Perception and Measurement

Doctor of Medical Science- Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany (Department of Otorhinolaryngology)

Ph.D.- Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Department of Food and Nutrition)

M.S.- Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Department of Food and Nutrition)

B.S.- Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Department of Food Resources)

Pellegrino R, Crandall PG*, Seo HS (2015) Using olfaction and unpleasant reminders to reduce the intention-behavior gap in hand washing. Scientific Reports, 5: 18890. DOI:10.1038/srep18890.

Samant SS, Crandall PG, Seo HS* (2016) The effect of varying educational intervention on consumers’ understanding and attitude toward sustainability and process-related labels found on chicken meat products. Food Quality and Preference, 48: 146-155.

Harrington RJ*, Seo HS (2015) The impact of liking of wine and food item on perceptions of wine-food pairing. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 18: 489-501.

Van Loo EJ*, Caputo V, Nayga RM, Seo HS, Zhang B, Verbeke W (2015)  Sustainability labels  on  coffee:  Consumer  preferences, willingness-to-pay  and  visual  attention  to attributes. Ecological Economics, 118: 215-225.

Sorokowska A*, Schriever VA, Gudziol V, Hummel C, Hähner A, Iannilli E, Sinding C, Aziz M,  Seo HS, Negoias S, Hummel T (2015) Changes of olfactory abilities in relation to age – Odor identification abilities in more than 1400 people aged 4 to 80 years. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head & Neck, 272-1937-1944.

Samant SS, Crandall PG, O’Bryan CA, Lingbeck J, Martin B, Seo HS* (2015) Sensory impact of chemical and natural antimicrobials on poultry products. Poultry Science, 94: 1699-1710.

Luckett CR, Oswald CG, Wilson MM, Pinto de Carvalho Alves M, Sullivan LB, Ferreira Floriano G, Bezerra de Holanda J, Seo HS* (2015) Chronic stress decreases liking and satisfaction of low-calorie chips. Food Research International, 76: 277-282.

Pellegrino  R,  Crandall  PG*, Seo  HS  (2015)  Hand  washing  and  disgust  response  to handling   different   food   stimuli   between  two   different   cultures.   Food   Research International, 76: 301-308.

Pellegrino R, Luckett CR, Shinn S, Mayfield S, Gude K, Rhea A, Seo HS* (2015) Effects of background  sound  on  consumers’ sensory  discriminatory  ability  among  foods.  Food Quality and Preference, 43: 71-78.

Pellegrino R, Crandall PG*, O’Bryan CA, Seo HS (2015) A review of motivational models for improving hand hygiene among an increasingly diverse food service workforce. Food Control, 50: 446-456.

Luckett  CR,  Seo  HS*  (2015)  Consumer  attitudes  towards  texture  and  other  food attributes. Journal of Texture Studies, 46: 46-57.

Cho S, Han A, Taylor MH, Huck AC, Mishler AM, Mattal KL, Barker CA, Seo HS* (2015) Blue  lighting  decreases the  amount  of  food consumed  in  men,  but  not  in  women. Appetite, 85: 111-117.

Zhang B, Seo HS* (2015) Visual attention toward food-item images can vary as a function of background saliency and culture: An eye-tracking study. Food Quality and Preference, 41: 172-179.

Kim JW, Samant SS, Seo Y, Seo HS* (2015) Variation in saltiness perception of soup with respect to soup serving temperature and consumer dietary habits. Appetite, 84: 73-78.

García-Segovia P, Harrington RJ, Seo HS* (2015) Influences of table setting and eating location on food acceptance and intake. Food Quality and Preference, 39: 1-7.

Crandall PG, Seo HS, Pellegrino R, O’Bryan CA, Meullenet JF, Hettiarachchy NS, Washburn AM, Ranhotra GS (2014) Effect of storage temperature on sensory and physicochemical properties of wheat flour fortified with elevated levels of vitamin A in combination with three types of iron. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology A, 4: 563-575.

Cho S, Yoon SH, Min J, Lee S, Tokar T, Lee SO, Seo HS (2014) Sensory characteristics of Seolgitteok (Korean rice cake) in relation to the addition levels of brown rice flour and sugar. Journal of Sensory Studies, 29: 371-383.

Purcell S, Wang YJ, Seo HS (2014) Application of oxidized starch in bake-only chicken nuggets. Journal of Food Science, 79: C810-C815.

Purcell S, Wang YJ, Seo HS (2014) Enzyme-modified starch as an oil delivery system for bake-only chicken nuggets. Journal of Food Science, 79: C802-C809.

Fiegel A, Meullenet JF, Harrington RJ, Humble R,  Seo HS* (2014) Background music  genre  can  modulate  flavor  pleasantness  and overall  impression  of  food stimuli. Appetite, 76: 144-152.

Luckett   CR,   Kuttappan   VA,   Johnson   LG,   Owens   CM,    Seo   HS*   (2014) Comparison of three instrumental methods for predicting sensory texture attributes of poultry deli meat. Journal of Sensory Studies, 29: 171-181.

Hasenbeck A, Cho S, Meullenet JF, Tokar T, Yang F, Huddleston EA,  Seo HS* (2014) Color and illuminance level of lighting can modulate willingness to eat bell peppers. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 94: 2049-2056.

Seo HS*, Lohse F, Luckett RA, Hummel T (2014) Congruent sound increase odor pleasantness. Chemical Senses, 39: 215-228.

Bensafi  M,  Iannilli  E,  Schriever  V,   Seo  HS,  Poncelet  J,  Gerber  J,  Rouby  C, Hummel T (2013) Cross-modal integration of emotions in the chemical senses. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7: e883.

Seo  HS*,  Lee  S,  Cho  S  (2013)  Relationships  between  personality  traits  and attitudes toward the sense of smell. Frontiers in Psychology, 4: e901.

* Corresponding Author

2012- present
Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas, Department of Food Science
Center Director, University of Arkansas Sensory Service Center

2010-2011
Research Associate, University Hospital Dresden, Germany, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell and Taste Clinic

2007-2010
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, University Hospital Dresden, Germany, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Smell and Taste Clinic

2006-2007
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Hanbat National University, Department of Industrial Management Engineering, Human Ergonomics Lab

2004-2005
Research Assistant, Seoul National University, Research Institute of Human Ecology

2013
Top Research Presentation Honors
Harrington  R, Seo HS, Min J, The Enometrics XX Conference in Talca, Chile.

2011 & 2012
Polak Junior Scientist Travel Awards, The Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS), U.S.A.

2007
Post-Doctoral Grant Award, Korea Research Foundation Grant, Republic of Korea

2006
Research Paper Competition Award, Korean Society of Food Science & Technology Societies, Republic of Korea