When fiber becomes a solution: New perspectives on piglet nutrition

She first joined PIG‑PARADIGM as a postdoctoral researcher, where she began working on projects focused on prebiotics and non-digestible carbohydrates nutrition and gut health in piglets—research that has continued to shape her work as she transitioned into a faculty role:

-I started in PIG‑PARADIGM as an early‑career researcher, she says. Now I’m a sub‑project leader.

 That transition gave her a unique view of collaborative research, from contributing data to helping steer projects and build networks across institutions.

Her work centers on piglet gut health, particularly around the stressful weaning period. One completed project explored whether combining fiber sources—seaweed and wheat bran—with enzymes could create prebiotic effects that benefit piglets’ developing microbiomes. 

- The pig cannot digest fiber at all, but when it reaches the colon, the microbe can degrade it. The idea of adding enzymes is to cut the fiber earlier so it’s easier to ferment later.

The seaweed caught her attention years earlier during postdoctoral work in cattle nutrition. One species, Palmaria palmata, stood out for its unusual fiber structure, making it an ideal candidate for combination with enzyme. The seaweed used in the study was sourced sustainably from Norway’s Lofoten Islands, though Élisabeth is careful to note that cost and variability mean it’s not yet a practical feed solution.

Her broader motivation is shared across animal nutrition: with growing global food demand and limited farmland, researchers need to explore alternatives that don’t compete directly with human food production. 

- Fiber used to be considered negatively in pigs because it decreased digestibility, but now, with the push to reduce antibiotics, there’s a new look on fiber as something that could actually help gut health.

Alongside this work, Élisabeth leads another PIG‑PARADIGM project investigating prebiotics fed to piglets from birth to weaning and collaborates on studies characterizing nopal fiber as a novel feed source.

I think it’s important to research new feed sources like seaweed, because if we never find new ways of doing things, then we’ll stay with the post-weaning diarrhea problem. 

-PIG‑PARADIGM has been as important professionally as scientifically, she says. 

Beyond the science, Élisabeth emphasizes the role PIG‑PARADIGM has played in her career development. 

-It was really good for me personally, she says. I met so many people, and a lot of collaborations happened naturally—sometimes just from conversations during meetings.

Several of those interactions have since grown into joint projects and long‑term academic relationships. For Élisabeth, that collaborative ecosystem mirrors her scientific philosophy: progress happens when disciplines, ideas, and people connect in unexpected ways.