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Upcoming FIG Events

Cellular Agriculture: Engineering Alternative Proteins for a Sustainable Future Food System

Wednesday February 19th at 3pm. Leahy Building 102, 105 Carrigan Drive

Panel Discussion With:

David L. Kaplan, Ph.D.

David Kaplan is the Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering at Tufts University, a Distinguished University Professor, and Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He directs the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) and the USDA-sponsored Institute for Cellular Agriculture. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. 

Rachael Floreani, Ph.D.

Dr. Floreani earned her MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in 2007 and 2009. After two years of post-doctoral work at the University of Washington, she started her position at �պ����� in 2011.

Dr. Floreani has led interdisciplinary teams at biotech start-ups and in academia. She serves as an advisor to industry partners and female founders around the world. Dr. Floreani has been invited to speak at international conferences, has been interviewed by multiple news outlets, and has served on academic panels related to her research. Her translational research spans the biomedical, materials processing, and cellular agriculture fields, and has culminated in six granted patents, 40+ scientific articles, and an FDA approved implant available on the market. Dr. Floreani collaborates on research and product development across many fields, including tissue engineering, cultivated meat, cell culture media development, and biomaterials. Her other interests include sustainability, biomimicry, and the valorization of agricultural byproducts. Her mission is focused on generating translatable products that benefit both humankind and the planet.

Chris Foley

Chris Foley is a third-year Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate at �պ�����'s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and a part-time Materials Engineer at Burlington Bio. His research, conducted both on campus and at Burlington Bio, focuses on using sustainable proteins to develop scaffolds for cultivated meat that replicate the mechanical and physical properties of native muscle tissue. Through this work, he aims to advance the field of cultivated meat production, contributing to sustainable and scalable food solutions for the future.

Kevin J. Markey, MSc

Kevin is a professional chef and twice graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He holds a master’s degree in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security from the University of Galway in Ireland and is currently a master’s candidate in Food Systems at �պ�����. Currently, Kevin’s research is focused on the textural properties and sensory analysis of whey protein-based hydrogels blended into beef patties, for the eventual use as scaffolding in the production of cultivated meat.

Alternative Proteins for a Changing Climate

Wednesday March 19th at 3pm. Leahy Building 102, 105 Carrigan Drive

Alexis Yamashita

Alexis Yamashita is a community organizer who has been working with seed-based cooperatives and initiatives since 2017. Her recent experiences include being a founding member and co-director of Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA). UCFA is a BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) seed farming collective working to increase access to culturally meaningful seed varieties and sustainable seed saving practices. Prior to her work with UCFA, she was a seed racks division co-manager of the organic, heirloom, worker cooperative seed company Southern Exposure Seed Exchange based in Mineral, VA. Her work with collectives was solidified during her time living at the oldest, egalitarian intentional community, Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, VA. During her time at Twin Oaks, she operated in several leadership capacities including being a community planner, member of the economic advisory council and equity council. 

For the past three years, Alexis has been a UCFA research lead on a Northeast SARE funded project looking at the opportunities and barriers for integrating culturally meaningful, regionally adapted seeds in Northeast seed systems. As an expression of her work with policy and community-based spaces, Alexis has also been working with an emergent, multi-regional community plant breeding project. Alexis has an MBA and BA in Music Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University and has also studied herbalism foundations with the Richmond Herbalism Guild. As of fall 2024, she will be continuing her seed system-based research as a Food Systems PhD candidate at �պ�����.

Patrick Shafer

Patrick Shafer is a Food Systems Ph.D. student at �պ�����. He studies how farming and eating insects can help develop sustainable and circular food systems. Insects play an important role in ecosystem food webs by recycling waste as nutrients for other consumers. Diverse food chains increase the resilience of ecosystems, and the same is true of human-made food systems. However, insects are discounted from Western industrial food systems. Patrick’s goal is to diversify and strengthen regional food systems by re-introducing insects to make more food with less waste. He aims to apply his diverse background - in advertising, cooking, baking, food education, and farming - to encourage the adoption of farming and eating insects in the U.S.. 

His MS research studied the growth performance of mealworms reared on pre-consumer food waste from university foodservice, and the perceptions of insect-based foods among university students. For his PhD research, he is researching the relationship between students’ perceptions of edible insects and the “terroir” effect of different regional pre-consumer university food wastes on mealworm nutritional composition, flavor profile, and baking characteristics. Patrick is co-advised by Chris Skinner and Yolanda Chen. He welcomes transdisciplinary collaboration and encourages anyone interested in working together to get in touch!

About FIG

Speakers from �պ����� and beyond give talks on food systems topics. Each FIG features one or more presentations, with time for questions and discussion over food. This seminar series is presented by Food Systems Research Center and the Food Systems Graduate Program.

FIG events are held monthly on Wednesdays at 3pm in the Leahy Building, Room 102

Contact Allison.Spain@uvm.edu with any questions.