Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am currently an Associate Professor within the School of Psychological Sciences and co-director of the Food, Flavour and Fragrance lab. My research takes a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding how our physiology impacts behaviour, exploring, for example, the role our sense of smell and personality and romantic relationships. I completed my PhD in 2008 at Macquarie University and after working in the market consultancy field, I returned to work as a Post-doctoral and academic at Macquarie University.
Teaching
I currently have the privilege of convening Introduction to Psychology I which has the largest cohort of students. I also give guest lectures on various The Psychology of Human Relationships, The Scientist Practitioner Model and Real-word Applications of Visual Perception.
Research interests
I currently conduct research on various topics including:
- Understanding the role our sense of smell and body odours play in romantic relationships,
- Exploring the social impact of having a poor sense of smell,
- Investigating the link between olfaction and personality (especially psychopathic traits and empathy).
Research student supervision
I currently supervise Honours and Higher Degree Research students within my areas of interests. I am always excited to hear from people who share the same research interests and discuss collaborative projects or research supervision.
Community engagement
I am involved in increasing the representation of Indigenous Australians in studying psychology and also embedding Indigenous content and perspectives within psychology degrees.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 11 Finished
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Exploring the impact of olfactory loss on hunger and eating behaviours
Mahmut, M. (Primary Chief Investigator)
1/07/25 → 31/10/25
Project: Research
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Exploring the link between olfaction and anxiety
Mahmut, M. (Supervisor) & Pieniak, M. (PhD Student)
1/03/23 → 31/05/23
Project: Research
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Exploring the physiological reactions associated olfaction and vision-based attraction
Mahmut, M. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Croy, I. (Primary Chief Investigator)
1/07/22 → 30/11/22
Project: Research
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Cross-cultural study on human olfactory sensitivity II
Oleszkiewicz, A. (Primary Chief Investigator), Hummel, T. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Mahmut, M. (Primary Chief Investigator)
1/06/22 → 30/04/23
Project: Research
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The role of olfaction and body odours in starting, sustaining and severing romantic relationships
Mahmut, M. (Primary Chief Investigator)
1/07/19 → 31/12/19
Project: Other
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Generalized and social anxiety symptoms are differentially associated with common and social odor sensitivity
Pieniak, M., Wylie, F., Bingham, J., Diiorio-Dedomeneghi, T., Wood, J. & Mahmut, M., Oct 2026, In: Biological Psychology. 210, p. 1-7 7 p., 109383.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Human olfactory sensitivity varies across geographical locations
Reichert, A., Abraham, N. M., Abraham, J. N., Albanese, M. L., Alizadeh, R., Aloulou, I., Chen, L., Enecilla, M. L. B., Fornazieri, M. A., Frasnelli, J., Fuselli, J. M., Gansatao, F., Guducu, C., Hernandez, A. K., Hofer, M. K., Husain, S., Kamel, R., Lamond, E., Loy, F. & Mahmut, M. K. & 27 others, , Feb 2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, 1, p. 1-13 13 p., 9713.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile16 Downloads (Pure) -
Severity of onion tearing and chemosensory sensitivity: a preliminary investigation
Mahmut, M. K., Herz, R. S., Bormann, A., Weise, S., Pang, L. H., Soncini, A. & Hummel, T., Jun 2026, In: Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. 11, 3, p. 1-8 8 p., e70452.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Downloads (Pure) -
Attraction in every sense: how looks, voice, movement and scent draw us to future lovers and friends
Schirmer, A., Franz, M., Krismann, L., Nöring, V., Große, M., Mahmut, M. & Croy, I., Aug 2025, In: British Journal of Psychology. 116, 3, p. 684-701 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)293 Downloads (Pure) -
Demographic and geographical determinants of human olfactory perception of 909 individuals inhabiting 16 regions
Drnovsek, E., Abraham, N. M., Abraham, J. N., Alizadeh, R., Aloulou, I., Chen, L., Berioso Enecilla, M. L., Fornazieri, M. A., Frasnelli, J., Fuselli, J. M., Gansatao, F., Guducu, C., Hernandez, A. K., Hofer, M. K., Husain, S., Kamel, R., Khouri, V. F., Loy, F., Mahmut, M. K. & Marek, D. & 29 others, , 17 Oct 2025, In: iScience. 28, 10, p. 1-14, e1-e3 18 p., 113455.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)13 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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LightHouse Award - Empowerment
Kallen, R. (Recipient), Mahmut, M. (Recipient) & Forbes, M. (Recipient), 2022
Prize
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Scents of Attraction: The Connection between Olfactory Ability, Disgust, and Romantic Relationships
Wylie, F. (Speaker) & Mahmut, M. (Speaker)
May 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Presentation
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Michał Mikołaj Stefanczyk
Mahmut, M. (Host)
1 Oct 2022 → 31 Dec 2022Activity: Hosting a visitor › Hosting an academic visitor
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Michał Pieniak
Mahmut, M. (Host)
31 Mar 2001 → 31 May 2031Activity: Hosting a visitor › Hosting an academic visitor