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The project will examine dairy cows. Cows have a longstanding bond with humans, yet compared with companion animals, we know far less about their social behaviour. The project aims at applying sociolinguistic methods targeting a multimodal and material analysis of the sounds, gaze, movements, facial expressions, touch, space, and sensorial capacities of dairy cows. As a result, the project will provide proof of principle for an animal turn in sociolinguistics, which furthers our understanding of how cows use their voices and bodies to understand and relate to each other and to humans.

This project is a sociolinguistic history of vernacular Malay, the language of and for society in pre-independence Indonesia. This non-standardized form of Malay was used by the ethnically diverse, rudimentary educated urban lower middle-class - a large demographic niche that occupied the forefront of modernity. A substantial body of literature is available on this vibrant world, yet the linguistic character of these sources is not well-known. A study on the history of this language is crucial to understand how its speakers experimented with new concepts, ideas and knowledge, and how this affected Indonesias sociocultural history. What were the characteristics of vernacular Malay? Who were involved in shaping the mixed language and culture of Indonesias colonial cities? What desires and anxieties emerged in this society and how were they expressed in the vernacular Malay literature? The central objective of this research is to analyse a voluminous collection of digitized Malay books and newspapers (1870s-1930s). These writings offer vivid depictions of the language and society of Indonesias oft-neglected urban populations in late-colonial times. This project will produce a monograph-length sociolinguistic analysis and an online, publicly available database of this body of literature. Digital access to these primary sources facilitates quantitative cross-validation of qualitative research. Consequently, I will be able to generate a robust evidential base and reveal patterns previously opaque. Based on the sociolinguistic expertise of the researcher, this project aims to gain insight into the history of everyday life in an ethnically diverse society at the crossroads. The characteristics of a non-standardized language, the origins of its vocabulary, and its role in the designation of new ideas and concepts will provide a multifaceted picture of a nations colonial roots and its legacies for the present, in which the non-elite and the culturally hybrid can finally assume their rightful place.

“Macro”-managing genes All cells in your body contain the same DNA but can specialize into different cell types by turning genes on or off. This is carefully organized by epigenetic processes to prevent disease. This research will show how a newly identified player controls gene activity by placing the biggest epigenetic mark.

Studies on lncRNAs suggest an key role in development and cancer, however, no ISC-specific lncRNAs have been identified. Here I will study the role of lncRNAs in ISC development. I already identified lncRNAs that are enriched in ISCs and targets of Wnt pathway by analyzing RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and ChIP-seq from Lgr5 + ISCs (unpublished result). From this primary data set, I will find functional lncRNA candidates and define the action mechanisms of the lncRNAs. Lastly, I will elucidate the physiological function of the lncRNAs by generating knock-out mouse models. It has become evident that lincRNAs regulate multiple cellular functions including pluripotency, differentiation, and cell cycle. This project will, therefore, broaden our knowledge on adult stem cell biology revealing how lincRNAs play a role in self-renewal and differentiation of ISCs. At the same time, this project will extend our understanding of lincRNA biology by providing a comprehensive functional study in a physiologically relevant system. Furthermore, given that Lgr5+ ISCs are starting point of the formation of cancer stem cells and that colorectal cancer stem cells show a similar gene expression pattern with Lgr5+ ISCs, the defined lincRNAs might be used as diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in cancer.