From February 2020, Anna Cabanel joined the Spa project as a postdoctoral researcher. Her research focuses on the authoritarian and fascist regimes in 20^th century Southern European countries how they made use of spa culture in defining and negotiating their ideals of society.

After graduating with a Master’s degree in Modern History at the Ecole Normale of Cachan, she obtained a Ph.D. in Cultural History from the University of Groningen and KU Leuven in December 2019. Her dissertation investigated the role of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) in the construction and promotion of a scientific persona for women in the course of the 20^th century. Through an in-depth study of the selection process of the IFUW fellowship program and a collective biography of the fellows, she analysed the impact of the organization on women scientists’ careers and the expression of their credibility.