Jure Žitnik, assistant researcher at InnoRenew CoE; main area of research: physiology

• Where were you living in childhood and where do you live now?

I spent my childhood in Grosuplje. I moved to Koper at the beginning of my studies, where I still live today.

• What have you studied and what were the motives for your decision?

I completed my bachelor’s and master’s studies as a dietitian. I am currently continuing my studies in the doctoral study of kinesiology. I decided to study both dietetics and kinesiology because I am most interested in these areas.

• How would you describe your work to someone outside your field?

The most general explanation would be that at work I study how diet, exercise and other factors affect a person’s physiology from a health perspective.

• What does your typical working day look like?

A normal working day would best be described as working in the office on a computer with intermediate visits to the kinesiology lab.

• What makes you excited about your work?

I am most excited by the work’s diversity and the fact that the work never runs out.

• And what is the biggest challenge at your work?

The biggest challenge is scheduling time so that all the work is done.

• Which scientist or scientific achievement are you fascinated by and why?

I really appreciate experiments and notes of scientists in the field of physiology dating back to the second half of the 19th century. These are very detailed and give an insight into a time when the design of experiments was slightly less strictly controlled by the ethics commission than it is today.

• Tell us about the work of art (books, music, movies, theatre, dance, visual arts) that has a special place in your life.

I would find it difficult to single out individual works for most of the types of artwork listed. I don’t have a favorite book, neither favorite music genre. My favorite movie is “Arrival”.

• What have you read, listened to, or watched lately?

Lately, I’ve been reading exclusively scientific literature. I usually listen to music or podcasts during a workout because it makes time pass faster.

• Which place on the Slovene coast do you like the most?

I don’t have a special chosen corner, but I really like sports and recreational areas on the coast.

• What makes you enthusiastic?

Usually this is some research about a topic or an area that particularly interests me.

• Characterize your life’s guidance or an important realization (or epiphany) you have experienced.

The more you know, the more you realize what you don’t know yet.

• What does the charm of wood mean to you?

Its ubiquity in the living environment of the individual.