**About the Editor**

**Derek V. Byrne** is Professor of Sensory and Consumer Science and Science Leader of the Food Quality Perception & Society (FQS) Team at The Department of Food Science, Aarhus University in Denmark. Derek has a Ph.D. in Sensory Science from the University of Copenhagen and MSc. in Food and Nutritional Science from University College Cork in Ireland. Derek has some 25 years' experience in sensory and consumer science research, from the senses through to product quality and design and on to the critical importance of sensory science in food industry applicability. The FQS teams focus at Aarhus University is understanding food quality and perception via a cross-disciplinary synergy of multisensory human food analysis, experimental psychology, physiological responses and cognitive neuroscience, in the design and development of high quality, better-tasting, more stimulating, more memorable, and healthier food and drink experiences. The team work in all product categories across the food chain, from primary production to food processing and on to eating and retailing scenarios with the consumer, including fundamental perspectives on the human senses to understanding eating applicability in food quality. In terms of impact the teams outcome areas are the determination of the sensory and perceptual effects of the intake of food products and constituents in relation to human health with a specific focus on, food quality and design, appetite and eating behavior, sweetness and sugar reduction, basic sensory cross modal interactions, the influence food context on eating experience and on to understanding the very fundamentals of how our sensory system works. The FQS teams research is also underpinned by studies on the development of sensory methods and the application of multivariate data analysis in understanding sensory relationships. Moreover, enhancing knowledge about the ways in which variation in foods, contexts and individuals affect consumers' attitudes, hedonic eating experience and intake is also central in the focus. Derek and his team are also actively involved in transferring this scientific knowledge into practice to support the future food industry and help inform societal food policy aimed at improving eating practices.
