
Senior Research Fellow
- About
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Biography
I have obtained my MSc in Human Nutrition from the University of Vienna, Austria (2002) and my PhD in Food Toxicology from the University of Kuopio, Finland (2007). I have joined the Rowett Institute as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow and am now a Principal Investigator in the Gut Health group.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Co-lead of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Team (Rowett Institute)
Member of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition)
Member of the Human Studies Ethics Review Panel (Rowett Institute)
Member of the Organising Committee of the International Gut Microbiology Symposium series
- External Memberships
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Member of the FSA Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (since 2022)
Editorial board member Frontiers in Predictive Toxicity (since 2010)
- Research
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Research Overview
Impact of diet on intestinal metabolism and gut toxicity
There is strong evidence that our diet influences the healthy function of our intestinal tract. Besides the healthy nutrients, some toxins and carcinogens may also be present in the food we eat and additional toxic compounds can be formed or released by intestinal microbiota.
In my research group we look at how carcinogenic compounds are formed in the gut following high consumption of red meat, and how dietary fibre and Vitamin C can prevent their formation.
Furthermore we study mycotoxins, which are toxins produced by some specific moulds growing on agricultural crops. We assess the levels of mycotoxins in foods and human exposure to these dietary toxins.
This work directly benefits consumers by providing evidence on healthy and safe diets. Read more here
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Nutrition and Health, Biomedical Sciences.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Nutrition and Health
Accepting PhDsBiomedical Sciences
Accepting PhDsCurrent Research
My research investigates the role of the gut microbiota and microbial metabolites derived from dietary components on the health and function of the intestinal epithelium.
In one project we study the role of gut microbiota in the degradation of masked mycotoxins and the detoxification of mycotoxins. This activity of microbiota is important as it releases additional bound mycotoxins into the large intestine. Furthermore we assess human exposure to mycotoxins using urinary mycotoxin excretion as biomarker in humans.
Another project assesses the effect of diet composition on microbial metabolites derived from carbohydrate and protein metabolism (e.g. butyrate, ammonia, nitrosamines) and their effects on the intestine. In human intervention studies our volunteers consume diets with different levels of carbohydrate, protein and meat and we measure microbial metabolites in human faecal samples.
Research Team
Ms Margaret-Jane Gordon – Research Assistant
Mr Edward Devlin – PhD student
Ms Susanne Stephen - PhD student
Funding and Grants
- Probi AB funded research project (2021-2023): Investigating new candidate probiotic strains. Scott & Gratz (Co-I).
- NC3Rs funded PhD studentship grant (2019-2022): Modelling Candida albicans infection of the human gut using human intestinal organoid cultures. Gratz (PI), MacCallum, Munro.
- TENOVUS funded research grant (2018-2021): Application of human intestinal organoids to study food-derived risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease. Gratz.
- MRC funded research grant (2019-2020): Mycotoxin exposure, intestinal inflammation and childhood stunting in India. Gratz (PI), Kyle, Poobalan, DeRoos.
- Interface Multiparty funded research grant (2019-2020): Investigating the risk of mycotoxin contamination as an emerging issue for Scottish oat production. Gratz.
- Probi AB funded research project (2017-2020): Isolation of gut bacteria. Scott & Gratz (Co-I).
- Scottish Government themed programme (2016–2021). Gratz.
- Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance funded Early career X-change grant (2016). Molecular mechanisms of mycotoxin toxicity towards intestinal cell systems. Gratz.
- DEFRA Food Standards Agency funded research grant (2014-2015): Evaluation of masked mycotoxins in foods and their release and uptake in the gut. Gratz. Joint with FERA ltd, York, UK.
- Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board funded PhD studentship grant (2013-2016): Application of association mapping and genomic sequencing to starch and GI in potato. Joint with The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, UK.
- EU FP7 collaborative project SATIN - Satiety Innovation (2012–2016).
- Scottish Government themed programme (2011–2016).
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Course coordinator for MSc courses
- Clinical Nutrition, 2018-present
- Foundations of Human Nutrition, 2016-2018
Lecturing in several courses within the MSc Programme Human Nutrition
Tutor in Research Skills for Medical Sciences (BSc)
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Publications
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Page 1 of 5 Results 1 to 10 of 45
Free and Modified Mycotoxins in Organic and Conventional Oats (Avena sativa L.) Grown in Scotland
Toxins, vol. 15, no. 4, 247Contributions to Journals: ArticlesComparison of microbial signatures between paired faecal and rectal biopsy samples from healthy volunteers using next-generation sequencing and culturomics
Microbiome, vol. 10, no. 1, 171Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHigher total faecal short chain fatty concentrations correlate with increasing proportions of butyrate and decreasing proportions of branched chain fatty acids across multiple human studies
Gut Microbiome, vol. 3, e2Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMicrobiota release of bound mycotoxins contributes to human exposure: in vitro and in vivo evidence
Toxicology Letters, vol. 350, no. S, pp. S230-231Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4274(21)00776-1
Gut microbiota metabolise food-derived mycotoxins
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 80, no. OCE2, 57Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665121000690
Comparison of meat versus soya based high-protein diets on faecal microbiota and microbial metabolites
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 79, no. OCE3, E781Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007673
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Prevalent Human Gut Bacteria Hydrolyse and Metabolise Important Food-Derived Mycotoxins and Masked Mycotoxins
Toxins, vol. 12, no. 10, 654Contributions to Journals: ArticlesNondigestible Carbohydrates Affect Metabolic Health and Gut Microbiota in Overweight Adults after Weight Loss
The Journal of Nutrition, vol. 150, no. 7, pp. 1859-1870Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa124
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Intestinal hydrolysis and microbial biotransformation of diacetoxyscirpenol-α-glucoside, HT-2-β-glucoside and N-(1-deoxy-d-fructos-1-yl) fumonisin B1 by human gut microbiota in vitro
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, vol. 71, no. 5, pp. 540-548Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2019.1698015
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Multi-mycotoxin exposure assessment in UK children using urinary biomarkers - a pilot survey
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 351-357Contributions to Journals: Articles