TRENDING TECHNOLOGIES

The Growth of Cell-Cultured Meat

Program

Climate change and feeding a fast-increasing population are two world-issues that governments, researchers and industry are constantly trying to solve. One solution that has emerged is the cell-cultured meat industry, spawned by the possibility of a drastic reduction in emissions and the potential to be a sustainable source of protein for future generations. The growth of the cell-cultured meat industry has skyrocketed from 4 companies in 2016 to currently almost 100, with investments reaching a billion dollars last year.

This program will share perspectives from experts in the field as well as start-ups and investors on the future of this technology, the obstacles this industry faces to enter into the marketplace and the opportunities for start-ups looking to embark on these ventures.

Speakers

Ryan Sylvia, Sr Scientist and Program Manager, Cultured Meat Scaffolding, MilliporeSigma
Ryan Sylvia currently leads the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany Cultured Meat Scaffold Program. The focus of the program is developing and commercializing technologies that enable large scale, cost effective, and sustainable production of cultured meat and seafood products. His focus for the Scaffold Program is on managing intellectual property, technology landscapes, partnerships, funding, as well as team and lab expansion. Prior to joining the Cultured Meat program, Ryan supported early innovation and technology development projects in the bioprocessing group at MilliporeSigma for 10 years.
Tiziano Barberi, PhD, CEO and Founder of Lab Farm Foods
As co-founder and CEO of Lab Farm Foods, Dr. Barberi brings decades of experience as an accomplished scholar and scientist in the field of stem cell and developmental biology. His work on skeletal muscle has achieved significant advances in the field of human muscle biology and has established standard practices among researchers generating muscle cells from PSCs. Dr. Barberi has served as Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Texas Health Sciences in San Antonio and Principal Investigator at Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
Radhika Ramachandran, MS, MBA, Associate Investor, M Ventures
Radhika joined M Ventures in November 2021 as an Associate on the Technology team. Previously, she worked as a Strategy Specialist for two years in Merck Life Science, primarily focused on strategic projects driving growth within the Applied Solutions business. In the past, she has also worked for Nestlé Research & Development in the US for six years. She has an MBA from the University of Cambridge, an MS in Food Science from the Pennsylvania State University and a BE in Chemical Engineering from Osmania University. Radhika is based in Darmstadt.
Laine Clark, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager, The Good Food Institute
Laine serves as an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager, helping to position GFI as a valuable resource for emerging companies in the alternative proteins sector as they launch and scale. In addition to founding her own company that she exited through acquisition in 2016, she has worked with numerous startups for more than 20 years. Since 2017, she has been an Entrepreneur in Residence for Georgetown University’s Entrepreneurship Initiative at the McDonough School of Business. Additionally, she has served as an entrepreneurship mentor for George Washington University’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
David Kaplan, PhD, Chair, Biomedical Engineering, Tufts School of Engineering
David Kaplan is the Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering at Tufts University, a Distinguished University Professor, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His research focus is on biopolymer engineering, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cellular agriculture. He has published over 1,000 peer reviewed papers, he is editor-in-chief of ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering and he serves on many editorial boards and programs for journals and universities. He has received awards for his research and teaching and is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the National Academy of Engineering.