John Glendinning headshot

John Glendinning

Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Biological Sciences

Department

Biology, Neuroscience & Behavior

Office

Teachers College, 528 Building rm. 724

Contact

John Glendinning, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Biological Sciences, joined the Barnard faculty in 1996. His research seeks to understand the physiological underpinnings one of life's great pleasures: eating. His current research is exploring how the sense of taste mediates behavioral and metabolic responses to sweeteners, complex carbohydrates and alcohol. He is also studying how pre- and post-natal experience with foods can make them taste better (or worse). He investigates these questions in mice, using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular approaches.

  • BA, Hampshire College
  • PhD, University of Florida
     

Post-doctoral training

  • Florida State University
  • University of Florida
  • University of Arizona

  • BIOL BC3360 Physiology
  • BIOL BC3361 Laboratory in Physiology
  • BIOL BC1500 Introduction to Organismal and Evolutionary Biology
  • BIOL BC3597 Guided Research
  • NSBV BC2002 Statistics & Experimental Design
  • NSBV BC3593-3594 Neuroscience & Behavior Senior Thesis Seminar
  • NSBV BC2005 Flavor Perception and the Human Diet

Barnard and Columbia students in italics:

Glendinning JI, Archambeau A, Brouwer LR, Dennis A, Georgiou K, Ivanov J, Vayntrub R, Sclafani A (2024) Mice condition cephalic-phase insulin release to flavors associated with postoral actions of concentrated glucose. Nutrients, 16 (14), 2250. doi: 10.3390/nu16142250.

Glendinning JI, Archambeau A, Griffith G, Koffler K, Ortiz G, Sollitto C and Srinivasan H (2024) Mice learn to identify and discriminate sugar solutions based on olfactory cues. Chemical Senses. In press. doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjae024

Glendinning JI, Drimmer Z, Isber R (2024) Individual differences in cephalic-phase insulin response are stable over time and predict glucose tolerance in mice. Physiology & Behavior. 276, 114476. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114476

Glendinning JI, Williams N (2023) Chronic sugar exposure increases daily intake of sugars but decreases avidity for sweeteners in mice. Appetite 191: 107077. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107077

Sclafani A, Castillo A, Ion Carata I, Rachel Pines R, Eli Bergla E, Joseph S, Sarker J, Nashed M, Roland M, Sebastian Arzayus S, Williams N, Glendinning JI, Bodnar RJ (2023) Conditioned preference and avoidance induced in mice by the rare sugars isomaltulose and allulose. Physiology & Behavior 267: 114221. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114221

Glendinning JI, Williams N (2022) Prolonged consumption of glucose syrup enhances glucose tolerance in mice. Physiology & Behavior 256, 113954. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113954

Glendinning JI (2022) What does the taste system tell us about the nutritional composition and toxicity of foods? In: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, The Pharmacology of Taste. vol 275, Palmer RK & Servant G (editors), pp 321-351. Springer, Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/164_2021_451.

Pullicin AJ, Glendinning JI and Lim J (2021) Cephalic phase insulin release: a review of its mechanistic basis and variability in humans. Physiology & Behavior, 239: 113514. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113514.

Reed DR, Alhadeff AL, Beauchamp GK, Chaudhari N, Duffy VB, Dus M, Fontanini A, Glendinning JI, Green BG, Joseph PV, Kyriazis GA, Lyte M, Maruvada P, McGann JP, McLaughlin JT, Moran TH, Murphy C, Noble EE, Pepino MY, Pluznick JL, Rother KI, Saez E, Spector AC, Sternini C, Mattes RD (2021) NIH workshop report: sensory nutrition and disease. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 113: 232–245 doi 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa302

In The News

The science of culinary skills, learning labs, and museum visits are part of the many exciting courses that will educate students this spring.

January 20, 2023

Today, we sat down with two of our Biology alums who published a paper last summer on their work in the Glendinning Lab where they explored whether sweet flavorants enhance palatability and consequently intake of alcohol in adolescent rats, as it does in adolescent humans, under the mentorship of Professor John Glendinning. Because ethanol is thought to consist of an aversive odor, bitter/sweet taste, and a burning sensation, they sought to characterize the behavioral responses when flavorants are added to the alcohol. Below, we discuss their research and how their time in a Barnard Biology lab prepared them for where they are today.

July 2, 2021

Read about the new accomplishments of Barnard scholars.

September 21, 2020

From biology to psychology, Barnard leadership and faculty share their expertise on how best to cope during the current crisis.

April 23, 2020