The Science of Alt Protein: Transforming waste to fungal mycoprotein
Ke Wang, PhD
Cornell University
Event description
Fungi are an emerging, sustainable source for food and ingredients, offering a tangible solution to global food security challenges driven by population growth and climate change. Their ability to convert low-value, sustainable feedstocks into high-value, nutrient-rich mycoprotein and bioactive compounds positions them at the forefront of the circular bioeconomy.
To understand how fungi can be leveraged for sustainable food production, Dr. Ke Wang of Cornell University will provide a big picture of the emerging circular fungal biorefinery, summarizing the key advances and challenges across the ‘feedstock-to-product’ pipeline. It will also dive into the technical aspects of submerged fermentation and its effects on mycelium morphology and mycoprotein production by edible fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. Dr. Wang will also share a case study that demonstrates how mycoprotein derived from submerged fermentation can be leveraged for crispy functional snack applications.
Meet the speaker
Ke Wang, PhD
ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE, CORNELL AGRITECH
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Dr. Ke Wang is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell AgriTech, Cornell University. She also serves as faculty fellow at Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Cornell Institute for Food Systems. Prior to this position, she worked as a Senior Scientist at Amgen Inc., leading projects on industrial biotechnology and bioprocess innovation. She received her Ph.D. degree in Biosystems Engineering from University of California Davis in 2022.
Her research program at Cornell focuses on applying bioprocess engineering approaches to address current and emerging challenges in food security and environmental sustainability. Her research team uses microorganisms as programmable cellular factories to convert complex agri-food waste and low-value feedstocks into value-added products. Her lab investigates how microorganisms synthesize cellular substances under heterogeneous environments and their implications on bioprocess innovations.
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