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Austin LeeView profile

Research Fellow

• Black Sexuality and Gender
• Communal Mothering Practices
• Extended Kin Networks
• +7 more

Austin Lee is a Society of Fellows Postdoctoral Scholar at Boston University, specializing in Black sexuality, gender, communal motherhood, and race. They hold a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania (2023) and a B.A. in Black Studies from Amherst College (2017). Their research examines Black women’s navigation of motherhood expectations, class, and gender through affect theory, and addresses intersections of antiblackness, heterosexism, and gentrification. Education: Ph.D., Sociology, University of Pennsylvania (2023) B.A., Black Studies, Amherst College (2017) Research Interests: Lee’s work interrogates Black women’s experiences of communal motherhood, the emotional labor tied to racialized gender norms, and systemic inequities in gentrification. Using qualitative methods like interviews and affect theory, they highlight how race, class, and religion shape social stigma and emotional landscapes. Awards: NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant UPenn Turner Schulman Graduate Research Fellowship Teaching & Mentorship: Lee has taught at Bryn Mawr College on race, gender, and intersectionality. They also mentored students in UPenn’s Africana Studies Summer Program and served as a diversity and inclusion fellow, advocating for equity in academia.

• Food Microbiology
• Gut Health
• Fermentation Science
• +5 more

Veronica Marie Sinotte holds dual academic positions as a Postdoc at the Globe Institute's Section for Hologenomics and Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen, specializing in Food Microbiology, Gut Health, and Fermentation. Her interdisciplinary research integrates natural history, hologenomics, and ethnographic knowledge to investigate microbial ecology in fermented foods and insect symbioses. Her research program centers on three pillars: Elucidating origins and ecologies of microbes in fermented foods Studying microbial symbioses of animals/plants in fermentation practices Using immersive storytelling to translate scientific knowledge to the public Current projects extend her PhD work on evolutionary relationships between microbes and social insect hosts (ants, termites, bees) to explore traditional fermentation practices involving insects or plants. Analysis of her 9 recent publications (2020-2025) reveals a research trajectory evolving from foundational studies on termite gut microbiomes and social insect symbiosis toward applied food microbiology. Key themes include microbial transmission mechanisms, host-microbe coevolution, and microbiome responses to environmental stressors, with increasing focus on fermented food systems and public science communication through initiatives like the Microbial Connections Podcast. Her collaborative network includes prominent researchers such as Rob Dunn (North Carolina State University), Sandra Breum Andersen (University of Copenhagen), and international partners across Germany and Denmark. Current projects involve the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics and Novo Nordisk Center for Biosustainability.