Alan R. Hirsch, MD, FACP, a board certified neurologist and psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of smell and taste loss, is the neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. He is a senior attending in the Department of Medicine at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Hirsch is certified by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry in Neurology, Psychiatry, Pain Medicine, Geriatric Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, and Brain Injury Medicine, and by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties ・ Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Hirsch conducts in-depth studies of the chemosensory system and its relation to all aspects of life. Some examples include studies observing the effects of aromas on behavior, emotions, mood, and interactions between individuals.

An inventor and investigative researcher in the areas of smell and taste, Dr. Hirsch frequently lectures across the country and has extensively published many of his studies’ findings. He has served as an expert on smell and taste for CNN, Good Morning America, Dateline, 20/20, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS Early Show, and Extra. Dr. Hirsch’s expertise has also been utilized by many national and local governmental agencies such as the Illinois State’s Attorney Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Attorney General of the United States.

Additionally, Dr. Hirsch is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Academy of Neurology, American College of Physicians, and the American Medical Association. He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of The International Journal of Aromatherapy, as associate editor of Neurology Healthcare USA, on the Advisory Board of the National Academy of Sports Medicine, on the Medical Advisory Board of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Society of Illinois, and on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Professional Journal of Sports Fitness/ CPT News. He has also served as an ad hoc reviewer for peer-reviewed publications such as Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, Physiology & Behavior, Laryngoscope, and Journal of the Neurological Sciences, to name a few.

Dr. Hirsch earned both his BA and MD degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and completed his residencies in both neurology and psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Also a prolific author, Dr. Hirsch has written several books: Dr. Hirsch’s Guide to Scentsational Weight Loss, Scentsational Sex, What Flavor Is Your Personality?, Life’s a Smelling Success, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Sinusitis, What’s Your Food Sign?, How to Tell if Your Teenager Is Lying, and Nutrition and Sensation.