Enni

Mannila

In my doctoral research, I compare the health effects of oats and rice as part of a low‑gluten diet in volunteers at risk of metabolic syndrome. The study is part of the OAT‑GUT‑BRAIN project (https://sites.utu.fi/oatgutbrain/, in Finnish), Professor Kaisa Linderborg and Professor Marjukka Kolehmainen (UEF) as the co-PIs.

My doctoral supervisors are Professor Kaisa Linderborg and Professor Kati Hanhineva.

The aim of the doctoral research is to investigate the comprehensive health effects of oats in a low‑gluten diet over a six‑week dietary intervention by:

1. comparing the effects of oats and rice on blood lipid and glucose metabolism, diet quality, gut wellbeing, and perceived health;
2. examining how the nutritional intervention influences the gut microbiome, plasma short‑chain fatty acids, and markers of inflammation; and
3. determining how 6-week oat consumption affects metabolic biomarkers and identifying oat‑specific plasma markers (untargeted metabolomics).

My expertise is strongly linked to the health effects of foods and their investigation, nutrition, and conducting clinical interventions. I also have experience in sensory evaluations, as well as in gut microbiota and metabolomics research. My praised Master’s thesis (2020) focused on the bioactivity of Finnish nettle and yarrow.