Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA)

?? Big news!!!! We're growing quickly and are looking for FIVE new full-time, dedicated cellular agriculture and future food faculty members to join TUCCA. In under eight years, cell ag at Tufts has gone from being a fringe project to a concerted effort of 90+ people from the undergraduate to faculty level working on cultivated meat. Now, we're looking to expand our expertise and ability to support the field. We’re especially interested in applicants with backgrounds in sensory, nutritional, and techno-economic analysis in the context of sustainability, cell engineering, bioprocess engineering, artificial intelligence, and tissue systems related to experimental or computational approaches. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gzhsHREC #cellularagriculture #cellag #cultivatedmeat #futureoffood

It is not too late to join our discussion on plant cell culture for food products!

Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, assistant professor at the Friedman School, shares her expertise in food systems and sustainability to the discussion on lab-grown meat and cellular agriculture. ?????? As we explore new ways to make food production more sustainable, Nicole challenges us to shift our perspective and to weigh the potential benefits of these innovations against the harsh realities of slaughterhouses. ??? Tufts Tufts University Nutrition Science Sustainability Food Environment Cellular Agriculture Sustainable Food Systems Food Technology

Did you get sticker shock when purchasing that box of chocolate last week? Rising cocoa prices aren't expected to go away anytime soon, but a number of start-ups have been quietly working for years to grow cocoa via plant cell culture. And with the recent volatility in cocoa markets, these companies are attracting the attention of some of the biggest chocolate players in the world like Hershey and Mondalēz. Join us next Tuesday via Zoom at 5:30pm EST for a conversation with Steven Lang and Rio Stamler from California Cultured Inc. about the science and market economics of cell ag chocolate. Register here: https://lu.ma/oa0hzeom #cellularagriculture #cellag

Join The Good Food Institute for our next Science of Alt Protein seminar featuring Dr. Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, a founding faculty member of the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA). Dr. Blackstone's talk will summarize what is known about the environmental and social sustainability of cultivated meat to date, discuss research her lab is leading in both spaces, and highlight critical gaps in knowledge that must be addressed to move the field forward toward a sustainable future. Register today! https://lnkd.in/gyjUNDdT

?? Together we can make changes by making food... ?? On Feb.19th, THE ONE AND ONLY Prof. David Kaplan, from Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA), will share his insight and answer audience questions on cellular agriculture, the future of food, and the future of food research at the University of Vermont, and the Food and Ideas Gathering (FIG). Each FIG features one or more presentations, with time for questions and discussion over food. This seminar series is presented by the UVM Food Systems Research Center. The key here is building resilience through community. Come to learn, but also come to be herd! ?? ?? ?? Leading the discussion will be University of Vermont graduate students Kevin Markey and UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Chris Foley, also co-directors of UVM's The Vermont Alternative Protein Project funded by The Good Food Institute. ???? For details: https://lnkd.in/euKjHkRp

NEW COURSE ALERT!! Sustainable Materials at Tufts University Last Fall 2024 semester, my PI David Kaplan rallied me and a group of post-docs to design and teach a brand new, first-of-its-kind course on Sustainable Materials here at Tufts University. This course focused on the history and properties of old polymers and materials, the tech being developed that is leading to new-age materials, as well as sustainable manufacturing methods, life-cycle analysis, materials management, engineering considerations in different industries, and so much more! One of my favorite assignments of the course is featured in the attached photo. We sent the students home with SCOBY starters in the second week, and then challenged them to grow something creative with them. The students handled this assignment amazingly well and created the sweetest kombucha leather crafts ranging from decorative art, earrings, and hats to useful products such as wallets, purses, and organizers. It was shocking to see how much they ran with it with over 90% of the students having no prior experience with fermentation! Shout out to all my co-instructors who put together such an amazing course!! Logan Morton, Sanjana Gopalakrishnan, PhD., Reddhy Mahle, and Artem Arkhangelskiy, M.Sc., Ph.D. and of course our wonderful guest lecturer A. Sydney Gladman! Thank you to all of our students who bravely gave this new course a chance. Finally, I am thrilled to share that here at Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) we believe in freely disseminating all of our teaching materials so that other educators can easily bring these exciting cutting edge topics to their universities and schools. Therefore, please find all of our course materials here freely available: https://lnkd.in/eM6BueJD Please credit TUCCA/Tufts University if re-using our material. Feel free to reach out to [email protected] if you end up improving upon the curriculum, as we aim to grow this course every year! #sustainability #nextgenmaterials #kombuchaleather

?? Breakthroughs in?#CultivatedMeat?research continue ?? Researchers at Tufts University's Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) developed a more affordable and sustainable alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) for growing cells used in cultivated meat. They tested different microbial lysates (nutrient-rich cell extracts) and found that lysates from?Vibrio natriegens, a fast-growing bacterium, worked well for supporting the long-term growth of bovine and mackerel muscle cells. They created a new serum-free growth medium called "VN40," which performed better than previous alternatives while keeping the cells healthy and functional. This research provides a promising way to reduce costs and reliance on animal-derived ingredients in cultivated meat production. James Dolgin Damayanti Chakravarty, PhD Sean Sullivan Yiming Cai Taehwan Lim Pomaikaimaikalani Yamaguchi Joe Balkan Lily Xu Aaron Olawoyin Kyongbum Lee?David Kaplan Nikhil Nair Already in 2025, over 20 research reports on cellular agriculture have been published—and the year's just getting started. ?? Stay ahead with?Clean?Meat?Terminal your go-to source for all things cell ag! www.cleanmeatterminal.com https://lnkd.in/gv93WUU3

The Year of the Snake ?? has started off with a whirlwind of activities but here’s one highlight - I kicked off January at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA)'s Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day in Boston. Private investments in cultivated meat startups are down dramatically from a peak of $1 billion in 2021 to just $177 million in 2023 and even further down in 2024. Early data does not show a rebound in 2025. I went into the event eager to understand how investors were thinking about this sector and if it was really as pessimistic as it seemed. From the various panels and talks with participants, it was clear that the science behind cellular agriculture has made huge advances over the past couple of years. The enthusiasm for the basic research and all its potential uses was everywhere but the funding? Four Takeaways: ?? The Private Funding Drought is Real: Investors are pulling back as valuations plummet, making it harder for early-stage companies to secure capital. Steve Simitzis from Solvable Syndicate was a panelist and remarked that “The science is much further along, but the ecosystem and financial support are lagging.” ?? Public Funding, such as Research Universities is Now Key: To keep the momentum in the basic science research, more public funding will probably be necessary. Tufts University itself is an example of university and public money focusing on the science and early stage commercialization of cellular agriculture with 90 researchers now at their center. The University of North Carolina and the National University of Singapore were also there to give perspectives on their research hubs. ?? Better Strategic Partnerships: Private investors noted that it's time for the cultivated meat sector to pivot from aiming at flashy consumer-facing products to partnerships with traditional meat companies. Startups will need to integrate cultivated meat into existing supply chain, such as blending small amounts into fast food or pet food products, to gain traction. Companies need to focus on getting offtake agreements. When we see the first one of these agreements for cultivated meat, we will know the sector has reached the next level. ??? Governments are Seeing the Opportunities to be Industry Leaders: Despite the challenges, there are governments worldwide leaning into cellular agriculture. India, Israel, and Brazil are integrating alternative proteins into their national plans and South Korea has created a special economic zone for the development of cultivated meat. Investors still seemed enthusiastic about the long-term potential, but they’re still looking for that clear path forward that includes public support, strategic partnerships, and de-risked investments. (Great discussion with investors from Solvable Syndicate, Steven Finn from Siddhi Capital and Meghan McGill from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as well as a good chat between The Good Food Institute's Bruce Friedrich and Tufts' David Kaplan)