In 2020, CMC researchers were awarded $3.55 million from the National Science Foundation. The NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR) Award grant titled: “Laying the Scientific and Engineering Foundation for Sustainable Cultivated Meat Production", focuses on the following four objectives:
Establish Cell Lines
Develop an efficient strategy for stem cell amplification and differentiation to muscle, fat, and connective tissue that maintains cell line stability and supports scalability.
Optimize Media and Processing
Develop inexpensive, serum-free media and establish large scale bioprocessing for cultivated meat production.
Create Scaffolds
Develop biomaterials and processes to create three-dimensional tissue structure.
Economic & Sustainability Analyses
Conduct techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) for cultivated meat production.
CMC Faculty & Researchers
- Prof. Keith Baar (Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; Physiology and Membrane Biology) - Lead for Objective 2 and development of media for growth and differentiation of cells in suspension or on edible microcarriers to form unstructured product. Expertise in muscle physiology and tissue culture.
- Prof. David Block (Viticulture and Enology; Chemical Engineering) - Overall project leadership and media and growth optimization in Objective 2. Expertise in fermentation and media optimization.
- Asst. Prof. Anna Denicol (Animal Science) - Co-leading cell line development for Objective 1. Expertise in reproductive and developmental biology.
- Prof. J. Kent Leach (Biomedical Engineering) - Lead for Objective 3 and investigation of growth of cells to form structured tissue. Expertise in tissue culture.
- Distinguished Prof. Karen McDonald (Chemical Engineering) - Lead for Objective 4 and techno-economic analysis (TEA) for creation of unstructured and structured products. Expertise in biochemical engineering, TEA for bioprocesses, and plant cell culture production of recombinant proteins.
- Adjunct Prof. Somen Nandi (Chemical Engineering; Global Healthshare Initiative) - Techno-economic analysis (TEA) of cultivated meat bioprocesses in Objective 4 and creation of edible microcarriers. Expertise in biochemical engineering and TEA for bioprocesses; plant cell culture derived recombinant proteins.
- Dr. Anita Oberholster (Viticulture and Enology) - Sensory evaluation of meat products including aroma, flavor, and texture for unstructured and structured products in Objectives 2 and 3. Expertise in food chemistry, sensory analysis of foods and beverages, and mouthfeel analysis.
- Asst. Prof. Lucas Smith (Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - Lead for Objective 1, differentiating stem cells into fat, muscle, and connective tissue cell lines. Expertise in muscle physiology and stem cells.
- Asst. Prof. Ned Spang (Food Science and Technology) - Lifecycle analysis (LCA) of cultivated meat bioprocessing in Objective 4. Expertise in LCA of processes, energy efficiency and the reduction of food waste. The Spang Lab and other UC Davis colleagues have previously published an Animal Cell-Based Meat Cost Calculator.
- Distinguished Prof. Daniel Sumner (Agricultural and Resource Economics) - Pricing and economic analysis in Objective 4. Expertise in agricultural economics.
- Assoc. Prof. Ameer Taha (Food Science and Technology) - Evaluation of oxidation and spoilage tendencies of unstructured (Objective 2) and structured (Objective 3) product. Expertise in lipid oxidation and food chemistry.
- Asst. Prof. Payam Vahmani (Animal Science) - Evaluation of any meat nutritional quality changes due to bioprocessing in Objectives 2 and 3. Expertise in animal science and nutrition, and the effects of meat processing on nutrition.
- Asst. Prof. Jiandi Wan (Chemical Engineering) - Establishing the 3D structure for cultivated meat products in Objective 3. Expertise in 3D tissue culture.