William S. Cain ’66 ScM, ’68 PhD

William S. Cain ’66 ScM, ’68 PhD, of La Mesa, Calif., formerly of New York City; Jun. 20. He was emeritus professor of surgery (otolaryngology) at UC San Diego, which he  joined after many years at the John B. Pierce Laboratory and Yale University, where he had been professor of environmental health and psychology. He studied how humans perceive odorants and irritants, how they interact, and how they affect health, which led to extensive work on indoor air quality and consulting work for corporations. He evaluated ENT patients with smell impairment. The CCCRC smell test he helped develop was used to assess loss of smell with Covid-19. A former head of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS), he spent a sabbatical at the Monell Chemical Senses Center and later served on its external advisory board. He collaborated with scientists from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Israel. During his career, he mentored postdoctoral fellows from the U.S., Sweden, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Korea in his Chemosensory Perception Laboratory. He was a former president of the New York Academy of Sciences. He’s survived by his wife, Claire, and her three children; a daughter; a son; and four grandchildren.