At the Niv Taste Lab, we decode the chemical language of taste. We study how bitter (TAS2Rs) and sweet (TAS1Rs) taste receptors recognize diverse molecules - from food compounds to plant toxins and pharmaceuticals. These receptors are key to how organisms sense and respond to their chemical environment.

Our research integrates computational modeling, cryo-EM and structural biology, and cell-based functional assays to uncover the molecular basis of ligand recognition and receptor activation. We also develop tools to predict bitterness and explore how taste connects to toxicity, species evolution, and chemical ecology.

By linking receptor structure to function, we reveal how taste guides decision-making - both in human taste perception, in physiology mediated by extraoral taste receptors, and in the broader biological world.