The Interdisciplinary Alphabet project was funded by LIAS in 2023. The purpose of the project is to provide a starting point, either for individual consideration or group discussion, for conversations about terms being used and their meanings within a project.
The alphabet that follows is a collection of words and terms that illustrate two elements of interdisciplinary research. Some of the words are demonstrative of the multiplicity of definitions that can, in some cases, lead to misunderstandings when working in an interdisciplinary team. Other words are commonly used in relation to interdisciplinary work, and so are useful to have in mind when considering a project idea. It is not an exhaustive list, and nor are the definitions either complete or definitive.
In this spotlight we hear from fellow Jiamiao Hu, associate professor from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, P.R. China, to find out how impactful his time at the University was and how he has progressed since.
“I am very honoured to be hosted as a GCRF fellow by Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies in 2019. During my three-month stay at the University of Leicester, I had the opportunity to closely collaborate with Prof Bee K Tan (College of Life Sciences) and Dr Clare Gillies (Leicester General Hospital). Our collaboration centered around a systematic review with meta-analysis, aiming to quantify the relationship between blood lipid levels and blood sugar levels for pregnant women during their pregnancies.
“The findings of our study revealed that elevated triglyceride levels may be predictive of the development of gestational diabetes. This discovery suggests that women with abnormal blood lipid levels should be attentive to their risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy. The findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal eclinicalmedicine with IF=17.033.
“My visit to Leicester in the summer of 2019 greatly strengthened my collaboration with Prof Bee K Tan. In fact, Prof Bee was subsequently invited to pay a four-day visit as a special guest to my institute in China. The reciprocal visits greatly deepened our understanding towards each other’s research areas and laid a solid foundation for our follow-up collaboration.
“Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we made great effort to continue our collaboration. During the pandemic, we successfully secured a CSC funding to support a ten-month visit to University of Leicester again. Furthermore, immediately after COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, we were able to bring this visit to fruition.
“Currently, I am working with Prof Bee K Tan as an Honorary Visiting Fellow on research that explores the impact of high blood pressure on pregnant women. We firmly believe that our ongoing collaboration on the topic of pregnancy-related metabolic syndromes will make a valuable contribution to more comprehensive understanding towards the pregnant-related metabolic disorders. The findings may have the potential to improve antenatal care guidance and benefit women at higher risk of metabolic disorders during pregnancy.
“Reflecting on my story, I am deeply grateful for the outcomes from these collaborative projects, as they have significantly influenced my career trajectory. I have to say these achievements all began with that thrilling opportunity provided by LIAS in 2019.
“More importantly, LIAS not only provides opportunities for fellows to work with a single supervisor, but also organises numerous networking events during their stay. These events have facilitated extensive collaborations between scholars from different disciplines and universities. In summary, based on my experience, I can confidently say that LIAS acts as an enzyme, which greatly catalyses collaborations between researchers and inspiring novel ideas.
“Currently, I continue working closely with Prof Shaoling Lin as a team with 12 postgraduate students at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Our research interests mainly focus on innovative food technologies. Specifically, our particular areas of interest revolve around the exploration of novel metabolic-boosting foods with benefits for expectant mothers, as well as development of novel non-thermal sterilisation technology for food processing. Through the pursuit of these research activities, we hope our work will contribute to the promotion of healthier eating, optimise food preservation and consequently mitigate food wastage. We anticipate more opportunities to work with other scholars from related disciplines. We believe your expertise and insights would be invaluable in advancing our research.
“In conclusion, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to LIAS, not only for their help on my research and career development, but also for numerous opportunities for scholars they created. I wish LIAS continued success in all its endeavours.”
In this spotlight, we hear from fellow Kaushalya Ariyarathne, academic coordinator and lecturer at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, to find out how impactful her time at the University was and how they have progressed since.
“Although I was able to spend a very short period of time in the Summer of 2023 at the Leicester Institute of Advance Studies (LIAS) due to my care responsibilities in Sri Lanka, it was a very important milestone in my professional life.
“After completing my PhD in 2021, this fellowship provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my research and its new dimensions and trajectories. My deepest gratitude goes to Professor Clare Anderson and Professor Teela Sanders for providing me the support and guidance.
“The team at LIAS, Charlotte King and Kellie Moss, and the dedicated Fellows Room also created a very warm working environment. The University of Leicester in summer is a scenic, green environment, and the diversity of the students and staff makes it even more beautiful.
“One of the most important meetings I had during my fellowship was the meeting with the Vice Chancellor Professor Nishan Canagarajah who is of Sri Lankan origin. Prof. Canagarajah was humble enough to make time to meet me at very short notice. He emphasized the need to improve research collaborations between the State Universities of Sri Lanka, including the University of Colombo, where I work, and the University of Leicester.
During my time at Leicester, I was also able to present my research on the topic of “Colonial Laws and Sexualities: Sri Lankan Nachchi (a category of transgender) Sex Workers Everyday Engagement with the Law.” The objective was to share some of the emerging themes of the research on Nachchi sex workers in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which I intend to choose as my post-doctoral research.
“There was a good response from the participants and Professor Teela Sanders informed me about the Palgrave Advances in Sex Work Studies, which I consider as a very good opportunity to publish my post-doctoral research.
“Currently, I am working on a proposal for this book project. With the feedback of the presentation, I have submitted an abstract to a book project titled: “Transnational Contact Zones: African and South Asian Sexualities and Genders” to be published by the University of Pretoria and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Currently, the chapter is in the peer review process.
“During my time here I was also able to meet with Nic Farmer, the Liberation Officer of the University of Leicester, to discuss their role in the university and student activities in State universities of Sri Lanka.
“Further I discussed with Professor Clare Anderson, the possibility of expanding her research on colonial prisons, to Sri Lanka. More importantly, LIAS allowed me to network with other fellows, while the pristine beauty of the city of Leicester made my fellowship an unforgettable experience.”
The Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies Visiting Fellowship Scheme enables researchers to build interdisciplinary collaborations with scholars from the UK and beyond. The cohorts create sustainable partnerships responding to the research landscape. There is currently an alumni list of 30 fellows from over 20 countries. LIAS has a distinct focus. Working across all three Colleges and beyond the University, the institute supports challenge-led and curiosity-driven interdisciplinary research to develop Citizens of Change.
The following pages place a spotlight on the wonderful work of our associate fellows, fellow alumni, and their hosts. For more information please see the drop down arrow in the side menu.
The Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies Fellowship programme is one of the core areas of activity, enabling our researchers to build interdisciplinary collaborations with scholars from the UK and beyond. The cohorts create sustainable partnerships responding to the research landscape. There is currently an alumni list of 30 fellows from over 20 countries.
Ways to engage with LIAS Alumni Fellows Join us for a virtual lunch – email lias@le.ac.uk to book a place Sign up for the LIAS e-zine – email lias@le.ac.uk Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For more information on our fellows please visit the Scholars Spotlight page. For profiles of all of fellows alumni please also see our Fellows Handbook:
