At the 2026 Tufts Future Food Innovation Day, David Kaplan joined Bruce Friedrich to discuss how cellular agriculture is moving beyond the initial startup phase and into a more mature era of public-sector and institutional support. David shared his insights on the “second wave” of specialized companies entering the field and emphasized the need for better communication regarding the safety, control, and food security benefits of cultivated products. See below for a full playlist of all of the talks during the 2026 Tufts Future Food Innovation Day: Citation: Cellular ag moves beyond the startup phase

In this TEDxTufts talk, Dr. Natalie Rubio, a former PhD student in the Kaplan Lab, shares her decade long passion for cellular agriculture and the quest to produce meat from cells rather than animals. She recounts her unique research into growing meat from insect cells, which led to a NASA grant to study “space food,” and discusses the evolution of the field from theoretical idealism to the practical realities of industrial scaling. Dr. Rubio highlights the current challenges facing the industry, including high production costs and the technical difficulty of creating structured products like steaks. Despite these hurdles, she remains… Read More »Natalie Rubio on the Journey of Cellular Agriculture

At the 2025 Tufts University Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day, David Kaplan and Bruce Friedrich, president of the Good Food Institute, discuss the evolving state of cellular agriculture. They reflect on a year of significant progress, highlighted by major funding initiatives like the Bezos Earth Fund and deepening government support globally. Professor Kaplan emphasizes the importance of a collaborative scientific ecosystem and mentions the upcoming first Gordon Research Conference dedicated to future foods in 2026. The conversation addresses critical challenges such as the need for innovative scale up solutions beyond traditional pharmaceutical methods. David Kaplan calls for new paradigms in bioreactor… Read More »2025 Fireside Chat: Insights from David Kaplan and Bruce Friedrich

In a presentation at the ILSI AM2024, David Kaplan introduces the core concepts and future of cellular agriculture, focusing on the production of meat and dairy products directly from animal cells. He outlines the basic paradigm of isolating cells, multiplying them in bioreactors, and using edible scaffolding to create familiar food products without the need for traditional animal husbandry. Professor Kaplan also discusses the significant challenges facing the industry, such as scaling manufacturing, reducing costs, and ensuring safety, while highlighting the unique opportunities for “therapeutic foods” engineered for specific nutritional needs.

At the Tufts University Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day 2024, David Kaplan and Bruce Friedrich, president of the Good Food Institute, discuss the current state and future of the cellular agriculture field. Professor Kaplan expresses his “eternal optimism” regarding the industry’s growth, citing the incredible passion and dedication of students who are driving innovation from the ground up. He emphasizes that while the field faces economic and scaling challenges, the continued advancement of core sciences (such as cell isolation and low-cost media development) provides a clear path toward a more sustainable and secure food system.

At the inaugural Tufts University Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day, David Kaplan moderates a panel featuring industry pioneers Mark Post, Isha Datar, Bruce Friedrich, and Uma Valeti. The discussion marks a decade of progress since the world’s first cultivated beef burger and evaluates the field’s transition from proving scientific viability to tackling industrial scale up. Panelists emphasize that while cellular agriculture has grown to include over 150 companies globally, the next phase requires significant government investment and shared infrastructure to achieve cost parity with traditional meat production. The speakers highlight the essential role of public and private partnerships in raising this… Read More »Key Insights from the Inaugural Tufts Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day Keynote

In this stylized interview, David Kaplan provides a personal look into the daily life and inspirations behind the Kaplan Lab. He shares the history of the Biomedical Engineering department at Tufts, which he helped found over twenty years ago to meet a surge in student interest. Throughout the conversation, Professor Kaplan emphasizes that his primary motivation is his students, highlighting the passion and leadership of early researchers like Natalie Rubio, who helped establish the cellular agriculture program in earnest seven years ago. The discussion also covers the lab’s significant milestones, including a major USDA grant that has allowed Tufts to… Read More »73 Questions with David Kaplan: Science, Students, and Cellular Agriculture

In this SXSW panel, experts discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of alternative proteins, focusing on the technological and financial milestones needed to bring cultivated meat to the mainstream. Dr. Natalie Rubio, representing Arc Biotech and the Kaplan Lab, shares her insights on the transition from academic research to the private sector and the critical need for specialized bioreactors. The conversation highlights the collaborative spirit between startups, non-profits like the Good Food Institute, and government bodies to overcome hurdles such as high production costs and regulatory approvals. The panelists remain optimistic about the potential for these technologies to address global challenges… Read More »The Future of Food: Scaling Alternative Proteins

In a featured segment from CBS Boston, Natalie Rubio discusses her groundbreaking research at the Kaplan Lab on the potential of insect based cellular agriculture. As a doctoral candidate, she explores using stem cells from tobacco hornworm caterpillars to create sustainable meat and seafood substitutes. This work is driven by a commitment to improving animal welfare and reducing the environmental footprint of our food system, particularly by decreasing the methane emissions and water usage associated with traditional livestock. The research highlights a growing movement toward using advanced biotechnology to solve global food challenges. By growing tissues in a controlled lab… Read More »Exploring the Future of Food with Insect-Based Proteins

In this 2017 New Harvest presentation, Natalie Rubio discusses the critical role of scaffolding in transforming two dimensional cell cultures into structured meat products like steak or chicken breast. She explains that scaffolds provide the necessary surface area for muscle cells to adhere to and guide their development into organized tissues. While cellular agriculture has historically adapted techniques from the medical industry, Natalie emphasizes that food production introduces unique requirements, as scaffolds must be edible, sustainable, and capable of enhancing the final product’s texture and nutritional profile. Natalie details several potential scaffolding materials, including silk, collagen, and plant derived cellulose.… Read More »Scaffolds 101: Building the Foundation for Cultured Meat