Project aims
This project will work to translate scalable processes for high-volume tissue fabrication from the biomedical field to cultivated meat production. It will also develop a scaffold-free method for producing large volumes of thick cultivated meat. Ultimately, it will help develop a scalable platform technology to enable biomanufacturing of cultivated meat at large volumes and affordable prices.
Principal researcher
![Biomanufacturing scaffold-free cultivated meat 2 Gfi grantee dr. Yuguo “leo” lei, associate professor, pennsylvania state university, usa](https://gfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/YuguoLei-headshot-300x300-1.jpg)
Dr. Yuguo “Leo” Lei
Associate professor, Penn State University, USA
Dr. Lei has experience with large-scale cell biomanufacturing, mesenchymal stem cell therapy, cancer immunotherapies, and combinatorial biotherapeutics. His expertise is in developing next-generation cell culture and tissue fabrication technologies at various scales and costs. He is the faculty director of the Sartoris Mammalian Cell Culture Facility.
![Biomanufacturing scaffold-free cultivated meat 3 Research grant program badge](https://gfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CRG-featured-image-603x573.png)
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Research grants
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Integrating sensors into bioreactors
GFI grantees Dr. Ivana Gadjanski and Dr. Vasa Radonic are integrating sensors into bioreactors for cultivated meat production.
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Assembling organoids into meat
Learn about Dr. Iftach Nachman’s research to assemble skeletal muscle organoid building blocks into thick whole-cuts at Tel Aviv University.
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Diversifying cultivated meats
Learn about Dr. Kelly Schultz’s research to develop hybrid scaffolds for cultivated meat structuring, nutrient sensing, and scaleup at Lehigh University.
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Making fibrous cultivated meat
Learn about Dr. Mohamadmahdi Samandari’s research to integrate intramuscular fat and textural fibers into cultivated meat at University of Connecticut.
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Cultivated
Scaffolds and structural approaches to optimize fat distribution and content in cultivated meat
The inclusion of fat and marbling in cultivated meat is likely to increase its flavor, texture, and consumer appeal. Structural approaches using edible microcarriers, hydrogels, and 3D bioprinting present promising…
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Cost-effective sterility controls for cultivated meat
Meticulous attention to sterility controls throughout cultivated meat production is essential to optimize food safety, but the cost of biopharmaceutical-based sterility—the current standard for cell-based processes—is incongruent with large-scale food…
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Plant-based scaffolds to improve cultivated meat nutrition
A variety of plant-based scaffolds present the opportunity to combine the natural nutritional and structural benefits of plants with the taste and high protein of cultivated meat. Bacterial nanocellulose from…
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