Programme Overview

Synopsis:

The urge for food security and sustainability has advanced the field of microalgal biotechnology. Microalgae are microorganisms able to grow using (sun)light, fertilizers, sugars, CO2, and seawater. They have high potential as a feedstock for food, feed, energy, and chemicals. Microalgae grow faster and have higher areal productivity than plant crops, without competing for agricultural land and with 100% efficiency uptake of fertilizers. In comparison with bacterial, fungal, and yeast single-cell protein production, based on hydrogen or sugar, microalgae show higher land-use efficiency. New insights are provided regarding the potential of microalgae as production platform for precision fermentation and in the feed for cultivated meat and seafood.

Synopsis:

Precision fermentation, the production of molecules of interest using engineered microorganisms, is gaining traction as a technology to produce food and food ingredients sustainably. At Imperial College, we recently launched the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and the Microbial Food Hub, two new research Centres fully dedicated to making our food system more sustainable, healthy, affordable, and high-quality. At Imperial College, the use of yeast (S. cerevisiae and Y. lipolytica) to produce food ingredients including proteins, lipids, aromas, flavours, textures, vitamins, colorants are being explored. Cutting-edge synthetic biology tools, including multiplexed CRISPR systems and synthetic microbial communities are deployed to enable high-yield production.

The capacity to manipulate gene expression in a large, multiplexed manner using CRISPRai, which allows both activation and repression of target genes [1] is being explored. This is enabled by the simultaneous, inducible expression of up to 24 gRNAs in a single transformation, which accelerates the strain engineering cycle [2]. Using synthetic microbial communities, fermentation dynamics and production can be further optimised, increasing yields via division of labour and population control [4].

[1] McCarty, N.S., Graham, A.E., Studená, L. et al. Multiplexed CRISPR technologies for gene editing and transcriptional regulation. Nat Commun 11, 1281 (2020).
[2] Shaw, W.M., Studená, L., Roy, K. et al. Inducible expression of large gRNA arrays for multiplexed CRISPRai applications. Nat Commun 13, 4984 (2022).
[3] Aulakh et al. Spontaneously established syntrophic yeast communities improve bioproduction. Nature Chemical Biology (2023)
[4] Peng et al. A molecular toolkit of cross-feeding strains for engineering synthetic yeast communities. Nature Microbiology (2024)

Synopsis:

Cultivated meat offers a promising path toward sustainable protein production, but cost barriers – especially for cell culture medium – remain a challenge. This talk will highlight the concept of a novel circular production system that uses microalgae to recycle and replenish animal cell culture medium, with the potential to significantly improve the value proposition for cultivated meat manufacturing. The technoeconomic analysis of multiple system design configurations to achieve competitive culture medium and cultivated meat production costs will be discussed. Opportunities to enhance the system design and performance to bring it to practice will also be discussed.

Synopsis:

Microbial fermentation offers a robust platform for the sustainable production of food ingredients and alternative proteins, addressing urgent global challenges such as climate change and food insecurity. but high costs limit large-scale use. However, high substrate cost and long fermentation time significantly impact overall production economics. Rapid and efficient utilization of abundant, low-cost feedstocks such as lignocellulosic biomass and food waste through metabolic engineering efforts to convert lignocellulosic hydrolysates and dairy-derived waste streams into high-value food ingredients and alternative proteins could address this.Specifically, the substrate utilization range of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was expanded by introducing metabolic pathways for xylose and lactose assimilation. Additional genetic modifications were introduced to enhance the biosynthesis of food ingredients, including malic acid, vitamin A, human milk oligosaccharides, and tagatose. In parallel, Komagataella phaffii (formerly Pichia pastoris) was engineered to assimilate xylose for the production of alternative proteins from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Genome-wide expression profiling during xylose fermentation revealed xylose-inducible promoters suitable for driving heterologous protein expression under xylose conditions. These results highlight precision fermentation’s ability to turn low-value feedstocks into high-value foods, supporting a more sustainable and cost-effective food system.

Synopsis:

A drivers of liking study using commercially sourced plant-based meat alternative crumbles was conducted to identify flavor and textural properties and determine drivers of like and dislike. Positive (liked) attributes included breakdown, crispiness, first bite juiciness, residual oily and fatty mouthfeels, and heterogeneity. Negative (dislike) perception of first bite hardness was noted by panelists. Physical testing of crumbles included proximate analysis, freeze thaw stability, drip loss, water holding capacity, and textural analysis measuring hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness. Results will be presented and correlated to sensory analysis.

Synopsis:

Adequate intake of protein is essential for maintaining an optimal health. Abundant evidence suggests that, beyond the total amount of protein intake in our diet, the food sources of protein intake may differentially influence the risk of developing cardiometabolic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Specifically, animal protein intake may lead to an elevated risk of developing these chronic diseases, whereas protein intake from plant-based foods may improve the cardiometabolic health. Such differential effects may be due to other nutrients or constituents in the food sources, as well as complex interactions between animo acids, other nutrients, and the human gut microbiota. Controversies also exist in this line of research, such as the health consequences of soy protein, dairy protein, ultra-processed plant-based meat or dairy products, etc. Much research is needed to fully elucidate the health effects of these important food items in human diet. In addition, different food sources of protein have contrasting impacts on the environment. Overall, consuming an adequate amount of protein primarily from plant-based foods may bring benefits to the human health, as well as the health of our planet.

Synopsis:

Plant-based meat products have been on the market for several decades now. Still research in industry and universities focus on development of next generation products that mimic meat even better or aim at the development of alternatives for other meat types like whole cuts. In addition, methods are developed to analyze properties of plant-based meat products in greater detail. In this presentation, the state-of-the-art technologies in plant-based meat will be provided. An overview of current developments will be given, both in product development as well as in new analytical tool developments that allow an even better understanding of the structure-function in plant-based meat products and the structuring processes used to make the next generation plant-based meat products.

Synopsis:

The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) is a £38 million UKRI-backed initiative launched in November 2024 to accelerate the development and mainstream adoption of sustainable, nutritious, and socially acceptable alternative proteins. Co-led by four world-class institutions — the University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, Imperial College London, and the James Hutton Institute — NAPIC brings together more than 150 partners across academia, industry, government, and the third sector, both nationally and internationally. Its work is structured around four interdisciplinary pillars: Produce, Process, Perform, and People, addressing the full innovation pipeline from novel ingredient discovery and precision fermentation to sensory evaluation, consumer behaviour, and supply chain transformation. With a strong emphasis on open-access innovation, circular bioeconomy strategies, and data-driven tools, NAPIC aims to support the UK’s net-zero goals, strengthen food security, and generate up to 25,000 jobs by 2035. As a national catalyst for change, NAPIC positions the UK at the forefront of global efforts to revolutionise protein production for a healthier, more sustainable future.

In this presentation, alongside a brief overview of NAPIC’s mission and strategic framework — aimed at stimulating cross-border collaboration and accelerating innovation across the global alternative protein landscape, showcasing examples of research from the University of Sheffield. Specifically, on their work using Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE) to enhance microbial protein production: a powerful approach that harnesses evolutionary principles to optimise microbial strain performance. This research exemplifies how Sheffield is contributing to the ‘Produce’ and ‘Process’ pillars of NAPIC by developing robust, scalable biological platforms for sustainable protein generation. Integrating ALE with advanced analytics and synthetic biology to engineering microbial systems capable of converting low-value industrial side-streams into high-value protein ingredients offers a compelling model for circular bioeconomy solutions. These innovations not only align with NAPIC’s goals of sustainability, health, and resilience, but also demonstrate how targeted, interdisciplinary research can deliver impact on both national and global scales.

Synopsis:

The demand for plant-based, novel, and sustainably sourced protein ingredients is steep. While plant protein is gaining traction, functionality and nutritional limitations are hindering their market growth. Improving plant protein functional and nutritional viability will enable successful utilization in various food applications. This presentation will outline our research and translation efforts at the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC) to enhance and advocate plant proteins from various sustainable sources, through a combination of controlled and scalable processing strategies, and through breeding. There is not one size that fits all. Because each protein source is unique, specific upstream and downstream processes, and breeding approaches will result in targeted enhancement in protein functionality and nutrition. Different plant protein sources (e.g., pea, hemp, chickpea, oats, and pennycress) will be featured along with specific strategies that resulted in marked enhancement in their properties for various food applications.

Synopsis:

With the global population continuing to grow and the challenges of climate change becoming increasingly severe, sustainable development has become a core issue of global concern. As the material foundation for human survival and development, the sustainability of food is of great significance for ensuring global food security, promoting economic prosperity, and maintaining ecological balance. The exploration and application of sustainable proteins not only provide new solutions to the resource and environmental issues caused by traditional food supply methods, but also pave new paths to meet the continuous demand of the global population for high-quality proteins. The burgeoning development of future food technology will provide powerful technical support for the production, processing, and application of sustainable protein. Through a series of innovative measures, it is expected to achieve a comprehensive transformation of the food system, thereby driving the global food system toward a more efficient, environmentally friendly, and healthy direction. This talk aims to explore the key role of sustainable protein and future food technology in driving the transformation of the global food system, analyze their innovative development paths, and examine their significant implications for achieving sustainable development. By sharing the latest research advances and development trends, unique value and broad prospects of sustainable protein and future food technology in supporting the achievement of global sustainable development goals will be explored.

Synopsis:

As global demand for protein rises amid environmental and population pressures, plant-based solutions are becoming essential. Soy protein offers a sustainable, clinically validated option with proven benefits for weight management, sports performance, and cardiovascular health. Extensive clinical studies have been performed to validate the nutrition science benefits of soy protein.

This presentation will explore how IFF is advancing soy protein through innovative research and development. By combining high quality protein technologies with nutritional science, we’re enhancing soy’s functionality and expanding its use across diverse food applications. Our goal is to help meet global protein needs while supporting human health and environmental sustainability.

Synopsis:

Food profoundly shapes humanity, touching every life with a profound reach while concealing a maze of mysteries beneath its deceptively familiar surface. The advent of functional foods marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to understand its complexities.

However, a more surprising role of food in metabolism is yet to be fully understood. While food ingestion is known to alleviate hunger symptoms, primarily attributed to nutrient and calorie supplementation, our research suggests a deeper mechanism. We found that the topical application of an antioxidant enzyme at acupoints could also suppress hunger symptoms. This implies that removing the metabolic byproduct, superoxide, may 'reboot' metabolism, enabling the conversion of glycogen (stored in muscle and liver) into blood glucose. This suggests a potentially similar underlying mechanism for food's hunger-stopping effect, a finding preliminarily confirmed in animal fasting tests. We hypothesize that this surprising role of food is mediated by the connective tissue system, which appears to function as an electrical metabolic regulating system by processing mitochondrial 'leak electrons' as metabolic products.

Synopsis:

Current and future trends in the field of future foods, focused on cellular agriculture and alternative proteins, will be discussed, from recent innovations in the fields to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Synopsis:

PAST – brief history of human nutrition

PRESENT – how we consume today and the technologies that enable it

FUTURE – Some of the exciting technologies unlocking high protein, low glycemic index, allergen free, high fiber foods of the future

Synopsis:

In a fast-changing world and climate, we must diversify food production to create a food secure future. Cellular agriculture has emerged as a sustainable option for food production, with the potential to disrupt the current food system, and it is rapidly developing from a mainly theoretical system to a practical set of new food production technologies. The potential success of cellular agriculture depends not only on its capacity to scale economically, but is highly dependent on its general acceptance as a reliable and safe alternative. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) emphasizes the need for scientific research and technological development to consider their societal, ethical and environmental impacts. New Harvest’s mission is to develop the innovative and collaborative ecosystem required to create a more resilient and responsible global food system, by creating collaborative ecosystems and executing targeted field-building interventions while developing a body of open cellular agriculture resources.

In this talk, we will explore how New Harvest has been tackling the points here described, by applying principles of Responsible Research and Innovation in practice, and working to ensure that cellular agriculture develops in ways that are inclusive, ethical, and aligned with public values.

Synopsis:

Food processing techniques, such as extraction, precipitation, washing, drying, and fermentation, modify protein structures and induce the formation of supramolecular assemblies. The conformational changes in protein structures often result in functional enhancement or loss and have been a major focus of plant-based food studies. Native nanoscale protein aggregates are found in a wide range of foods and are readily accessible, bioavailable, and multifunctional. Their composition and formation mechanisms, as well as their regulatory capacities in cell redox, taste sensing, nutrient absorption, energy metabolism, and immune responses, have been partially characterised, shedding light on their multifaceted functions.

The spontaneous formation of these nanoparticles highlights the controlled degradation of the native cellular structures of food ingredients and the sequential migration of components from intracellular compartments to the extracellular space. The co-extraction and self-assembly of their main components are features favourable for greener and minimal food processing. The decisive influences of chemical modifications during food processing (e.g., glycation, disulphide bond rearrangement, oxidation) on the formation of nanostructures demonstrate the potential of utilising existing technology and facilities to manufacture food products with desirable textures and tastes. Their protein scaffolds, sometimes hybridised with polysaccharides, can carry lipids, phytochemicals, and various micronutrients, providing excellent examples of food microstructure design for health-promoting functions. Upon ingestion, these nanoparticles interact with digestive fluids, mucosal cells, and microbiota in the alimentary tract, modulating the taste and intestinal sensing of food, and exerting a series of physiological impacts while being gradually digested and eventually absorbed as nutrients. Understanding their roles and mechanisms in mitigating mucosal inflammation, scavenging metabolic wastes, and maintaining homeostasis of cell redox and gut microbiome may help solve another piece of the puzzle in food-body interactions. The use of native food nanoparticles as models for sustainable protein innovation may forge technological solutions to safeguard food security while optimising nutrition.

Synopsis:

Protein-based composite nanomaterials have garnered significant research attention due to their versatile and tunable physical properties, which can be tailored to meet diverse functional demands. Notably, these materials show exceptional promise in specialized applications such as underwater adhesives, fertilizer bioavailability enhancement, and stain-resistant fabric coatings. However, despite extensive commercial and regulatory efforts, food spoilage and contamination remain persistent global challenges, imposing severe repercussions on both public health and the economy. Crucially, these issues could be substantially mitigated through accurate, timely monitoring of food quality markers. As a result, smart food sensors have emerged as highly promising platforms, enabling not only real-time, in-package food quality tracking but also on-site commercial testing. In this context, this presentation will explore recent breakthroughs in the fabrication of protein-based composite nanomaterials, with a particular focus on their transformative applications in food preservation and intelligent monitoring systems. Furthermore, key design strategies and future directions in this rapidly evolving field will be discussed.

Synopsis:

Cultivated meat and alternative proteins hold great promise for the Earth and human health. However, people must buy and eat them for the benefits to become a reality. This talk will outline the potential objections that consumers display against cultivated meat and discuss the potential solutions that arise by considering eating patterns as an identity.

Synopsis:

In two decades, food systems will need to provide healthy diets for ten billion people within the limits of the resources of our planets and in response to the rapid transformation of climate. Currently, food systems generate between 25 and 30% greenhouse gases, consume two thirds of freshwater and 40% land, reduce biodiversity and pollute water through nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization. Additionally, one third of the burden of disease is the result of food and nutrition insecurity and the consumption of inadequate diets. Unnecessarily high consumption of animal source food is largely responsible for the environmental impacts and widespread consumption of highly processed food is responsible for the health impacts. Transformation is urgent, through changes in consumer choices and production practices. Public policies can play a role in reshaping food environments and consumption trends and innovation in sourcing and processing ingredients can offer suitable alternatives, with adequate consideration of health and safety.

Synopsis:

A major challenge facing the world is providing protein security in the face of a growing global population. To this end, we have started exploring different crops and food sources from pulses, insects, algae, fungi and more. As we pivot towards these under-utilised resources, potential exists for increasing prevalence of allergy elicited by proteins that can trigger life-threatening anaphylaxis. Yet these emerging protein sources can often possess high protein content and health-promoting benefits. In this presentation, the role of proteomics as a powerful tool to characterise both nutritional and antinutritional proteins in emerging protein sources will be discussed.

Synopsis:

This three-year project investigates how diverse stakeholders and cultural groups in Singapore perceive and accept cultivated meat, with a focus on the underlying mechanisms of public acceptance and strategies to address related misperceptions. Using a mixed-methods approach—including focus groups, surveys, and experiments—the project offers comprehensive insights into: (a) differences and similarities in risk-benefit perceptions and acceptance of cultivated meat among the general public, novel food experts, and Muslim consumers; (b) sociocultural, psychological, and media factors influencing consumption willingness among the general public and Muslims; and (c) the potential of AI-powered tools to dispel myths and combat misperceptions. By bridging insights from psychology, communication, and food science, the research uncovers multi-level drivers of novel food perception. Findings from this study can inform targeted communication strategies that address public concerns and cultural sensitivities surrounding cultivated meat.

Synopsis:

In recent years, the global focus on health and sustainability has propelled plant - based nutrition into the spotlight. Plant proteins, with their unique nutritional profiles and potential health benefits, have emerged as key players in promoting metabolic health. Although some plant proteins may be incomplete in terms of essential amino acid content, proper combination can ensure a complete amino acid profile for human needs. Nutritionally, Amway's all plant protein has a PDCAAS of 1. Clinical studies have shown that plant protein intake is negatively correlated with the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). It can reduce LDL cholesterol, improve insulin resistance, etc. In particular, chickpea protein and mung bean protein have shown great potential in improving metabolic health. Based on this, the chickpea, mung bean and brown rice composite protein formula (3 in 1) optimized through the Smart P&P system not only has an amino acid score greater than 1, meeting the standard of complete protein. Moreover, in the high-fat, high-fructose diet mouse model, it has been shown that 3 in 1 can significantly reduce fat accumulation, improve basal metabolism, and enhance glucose and lipid metabolism, muscle health as well as intestinal health. Since plant proteins can form complexes with polyphenols, the effect is more significant after adding apple polyphenols. In addition, we have launched relevant clinical studies aimed at verifying the intervention effect of the plant protein - polyphenol combination on people with dyslipidemia, so as to provide a scientific basis for the application of plant proteins in the field of metabolic health.

Synopsis:

Healthy diets are those that are adequate in nutrients without excess, diverse in foods consumed, balanced in dietary energy and its primary sources (carbohydrates, fats, protein), and moderate in the consumption of unhealthy foods and dietary components. This presentation will explore current evidence of the role of a variety of protein rich foods as part of healthy diets and provide reflections on the implications for the transition to sustainable protein, drawing on a recent consolidation of evidence related to the nutrition, environment, and socio-economic implications of animal source food alternatives.

Synopsis:

Rising global protein demand and environmental imperatives drive the shift toward plant proteins. Despite their advantages, debates persist about the sustainability superiority of plant protein products, which heavily depends on processing diversity. Innovations in plant protein utilization must prioritize both nutritional benefits and ecological impact. On one hand, mild separation and moderate processing preserve phytochemicals while maintaining a low carbon footprint. Non-thermal strategies like high-pressure processing (HPP) show potential to enhance digestibility or enrich bioactive peptides in beverages. On the other hand, novel bioactive proteins from plants—such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), α′-rich soy protein, and vegetable seed proteins—enable functional food innovation. Collectively, innovations in plant protein processing provide critical solutions for sustainable, nutrition-focused food system transformation.