Ukrainian PhD student has received an NCN grant and will carry out a project in the Microbiota Lab

Inna Vlasova was among 22 winners of a fellowship competition for early career scientists from Ukraine. As part of the project, she will test whether the tannins in fava bean pods can have a beneficial effect on the intestines in piglets.

She graduated from the National Pharmaceutical University in Kharkiv. She is currently in the first year of her doctoral studies and is writing a paper on the effect of tannins contained in fava bean pods on gastrointestinal homeostasis in piglets. 

In January of this year she came to our university as part of the Erasmus + program. At that time she conducted research in the Microbiota Lab operating within the Department of Pharmacognosy and Molecular Basis of Phytotherapy. Using more modern analytical techniques, Inna Vlasova studied modified extracts from various plants belonging to the genus Vaccinium (blueberry).

Due to the outbreak of war, the young scientist was unable to return to Kharkiv University and continue her doctorate there. Fortunately, it turned out that she would stay at our university for at least one more year. Thanks to a grant from the National Science Center, which she has just received, she will carry out her project in the Microbiota Lab.
- As part of the project, I will work on verifying the hypothesis that specific hydrolyzing and condensed tannins contained in fava bean pods can have a beneficial effect on the homeostasis of the intestine and intestinal microbiota and prevent E. coli infections in piglets, without showing negative effects on animal health - the young scientist explains.

- Upon completion of the project, all findings will be transferred to scientists at the National Pharmaceutical University in Kharkiv. Which will certainly strengthen their scientific potential. It may also lead to new innovative research ideas, which in the future will result in joint projects between Poland and Ukraine - believes Inna Vlasova's project supervisor, Jakub Piwowarski, MD, PhD, from the Microbiota Lab.

The scholarship competition for budding scientists from Ukraine was conducted by the National Science Center, and the program is financed by Norwegian and EEA funds.