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