Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
Cellular agriculture is attracting increased attention as a sustainable method of growing animal protein for human consumption. However, the field currently lacks highly qualified personnel. The proposed program will train three Ph.D. Fellows in the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area (TESA) of Food Science, Human Nutrition, and Human Sciences. The goals of the program are to build expertise in cellular agriculture, balance the science and technology aspects of this field with critical social and environmental aspects, train policy and regulatory experts, catalyze interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, strengthen students' leadership and professional development, and support breakthrough innovations. Our program is aligned with several Strategic Goals from the USDA Strategic Plan FY2022-2026. This program will implement an integrative and holistic training that emphasizes social skills critical for effective teamwork, provides meaningful mentoring, develops intellectual capital, and prepares students to become leaders in fields related to cellular agriculture, food and nutrition sciences, and alternative proteins. Due to both the nascency of this emerging industry and the established reputation of Tufts to train leaders in cellular agriculture, we are confident that Fellows will be able to pursue high-level employment positions, including c-suite roles, R&D leaders and founders of their own companies. The large pool of potential Ph.D. students combined with the mission of our cellular agriculture program will allow us to attract and retain underrepresented minority applicants. @font-face{panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-469750017 -1040178053 9 0 511 0;}@font-face{panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;mso-font-alt:"Times New Roman";mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-mso-font-pitch:auto;mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0in;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;;mso-ascii-mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-font-kerning:1.0pt;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}p{mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:0in;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;;mso-fareast-}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;mso-ascii-mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The specific goals of the proposed program are to build expertise in the emerging food science field that is cellular agriculture; balance the engineering and technology aspects of this field with the critical health, social and environmental aspects; train policy and regulatory experts; catalyze interdisciplinary communication and collaboration; strengthen students' leadership and professional development; and support breakthrough technological innovations. These goals are the foundation of a truly integrative interdisciplinary training program that emphasizes team science skills and the cultivation of complementary competencies critical to exploring the emergent and ethical dimensions of cellular agriculture. This program will thus encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete doctoral degrees in the areas of food and nutrition sciences designated by NIFA as national needs. Development of the cellular agriculture industry can lead to broader beneficial impacts such as scientific workforce diversity and inclusion, improved STEM education, public engagement with science, policy, economic and rural development, and increased agricultural competitiveness of the United States on the global stage.
Project Methods
Fellows will receive a stipend from the fellowship program while completing a PhD at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and receiving additional mentorship, experience and training in cellular agriculture.