Ines Martinez Sanchez from Spain will work in Professor Rochellys Diaz Heijtz's lab at Karolinska Institute, Sweden on the project "Peptidoglycan sensing molecules as brain sensors for gut-induced inflammation". Ines completed her Bachelor in Biology at the University of Alcalá, Madrid. After that she decided to start her master studies at the Complutense University of Madrid. During this time, she has chosen the optional subjects "Immunonutrition" and "Neuroimmunology", to understand how the brain and immune system are connected with the gut microbiota. In 2020 Ines finished her Master in Research in Immunology.
Kirsten Krüger from South Africa will work in Professor Lisette de Groot's research group at the Wageningen University, Netherlands on the project "Impact of late life nutritional interventions on microbiome/cognition". Kirsten completed her Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pretoria and worked after that as a medical doctor in both the public and private sector in South Africa. In 2020 Kirsten completed her Master of Science at Örebro University, Sweden with the program Nutritional Molecular Medicine and Bioinformatics. Her master thesis looked at the effect of dietary supplements (omega 3, vitamin D and probiotics) on physical function and intestinal permeability in elderly subjects with low-grade inflammation.