This is a higher education student and staff mobility project, please consult the website of the organisation to obtain additional details.

The FIBCOLIT project investigates the impact of fermentable dietary fibres (DFs) on intestinal physiology and inflammation via dietary intervention study in human patients with microscopic colitis (MC), a chronic disease characterised by sustained mild intestinal inflammation. This subject topic has significant interest for public health considering 1) the increased global incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases in the last 20 years, and 2) the increased scientific knowledge regarding the role of intestinal inflammation in driving the development of systemic inflammation in metabolic diseases. Currently, considerable knowledge gaps exists regarding the biological and physiological mechanisms that maintain and modulate intestinal homeostasis as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to chronic intestinal inflammation. The FIBCOLIT project aims to answer these open scientific questions through a multi-omics approach employing several analytical methods to examine DF-induced changes in intestinal barrier function, inflammatory markers, intestinal microbiota composition and functionality, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms, quality of life, and general well-being. The projects utilises a DF known to promote the production of luminal butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that has been associated with several positive health effects. Overall, the project's methodology allows specific targeting of the mechanistic links between DF intake, butyrate, and intestinal health. Should DF supplementation prove effective at restoring intestinal homeostasis, it could potentially offer a non-pharmaceutical option to the prevention and management of diseases characterised by chronic intestinal inflammation. The project results could potentially also serve as starting point in the development of functional foods for the general public.

Rape is a crisis affecting millions globally. Yet, there is a persistent under-acknowledgement of rape, contributing to victim blaming and the normalisation of sexual violence. The rise of the manosphere—online communities promoting misogynistic ideologies—has views that were once fringe, advocating harmful notions of male entitlement and hostility towards women, become mainstream in societal discourses. Research to date cannot fully explain why rape is under-acknowledged, especially across cultural contexts. This project addresses this gap by testing a novel dual-route framework for understanding rape acknowledgement. The first route, ‘entitlement-hostility,’ examines how some individuals and groups rationalise rape through perceived male entitlement and hostility towards women. The second route, ‘false interpretation,’ explores how cognitive biases and misinterpretations of consent lead to a failure to recognise rape, even among those who believe consent is inviolable. The project's second aim is to develop and test online interventions targeting these two routes, serving as pilots for future large-scale interventions. This approach fills a crucial gap by addressing these dynamics across cultures and radicalised communities, highlighting the need for targeted, culturally sensitive strategies. The project employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating representative survey studies, qualitative analyses, and experimental online interventions in Sweden and Hungary. Results will advance theoretical understandings of rape acknowledgement and inform the development of contextualised interventions. By disseminating findings through academic publications, a toolkit for stakeholders, and public engagement activities, the project aims to drive social change, reduce rape incidents, and support victims in seeking help. The fellow will also gain vital skills in interdisciplinary research, leadership, and grant management, significantly enhancing her academic career prospects.

Why are sports segregated by gender? Why do women play some sports and not others? What makes gymnastics a feminine sport? Why shouldn’t men compete in synchronised swimming? Why didn’t women compete in Olympic weightlifting before 2000? These questions have gained renewed prominence in the wake of South African athlete Caster Semenya’s legal appeals against the decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations to reduce her testosterone levels, the ‘me too’ movement, revelations of years of abuse in women’s gymnastics, and the controversies around Laurel Hubbard’s transition from male to female and what it meant for her weightlifting career. These issues have cast a fresh spotlight on the gendering of sport which has created barriers to discrimination against women, and a range of psychological and health problems for women, especially young women. This project employs historical sociology to understand how sports’ international governing bodies create, enforce, and dismantle gender segregation. It uses gymnastics, swimming, and weightlifting as case studies to compare how three sports have been engendered through their international federations’ rules and policies. Immersion in historical archives combined with qualitative interviews provide the data for the project, which will be analysed using a gender theory. In doing so, this project aims to provide a critical understanding of the binary gendering of sports as masculine or feminine, and offer new policy recommendations for sports associations to achieve greater inclusivity in sport. It will also expand the scientific skills of the researcher by incorporating sociological theory into history. It thereby broadens her expertise and reinforces a mature research position, improving the fellow’s employability post-project.