Developing marbled cultivated beef
2019-2021
Dr. Rowat is developing microporous plant-based scaffolds to allow myotubes and adipocytes to co-culture and produce thick cuts of marbled cultivated meat.
PRODUCTION PLATFORM: Cultivated
TECHNOLOGY SECTOR: Scaffolding
Project aims
This project aims to optimize myotube growth on nanofibers by tuning diameter and stiffness. It uses plant-based microporous scaffolding that favors adipocyte growth, and integrates these scaffolds to co-culture myotubes and adipocytes in order to grow marbled cultivated meat.
This work will enable growth and differentiation of multiple cell types simultaneously and will improve the texture and sensory appeal of cultivated meat.
Principal researcher
Dr. Amy Rowat
Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Dr. Rowat has experience using physical properties of cells to understand physiology and disease. She combines physics and engineering techniques with biology to form heterogeneous scaffolding for texturing cultivated beef.
Bridging the gap between the science of cultured meat and public perceptions
Check out this recent review paper from Dr. Rowat on the public acceptability of cultivated meat.
View related grant projects
Cellular building blocks
Learn about Dr. Marcelle Machluf’s work designing cellular building blocks for cultivated meat with at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Plant-based scaffolds
GFI is building plant-based tissue scaffolds for cultivated meat with Dr. Masatoshi Suzuki at University of Wisconsin, Madison
3-D printing bioinks
Learn about GFI grantee Dr. Sara Oliveira’s work 3D bioprinting scaffolds for cultivated meat the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Portugal.
Explore research opportunities
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
B2B growth factors for proliferation
There is a need for a supplier of low-cost growth factors produced without the use of animals to support the proliferation phase of cultivated meat production. The cost of growth…
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Cultivated
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Fermentation
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Plant-Based
Preventing oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before and after addition to alternative seafood products
Deeper fundamental knowledge of the causes and prevention of oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before, during, and after addition to alternative seafood products is needed to improve their nutritional and…
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Cultivated
Understanding uptake and interconversion of omega-3 fatty acids by cultivated fish cells
Although fish are one of the best dietary sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), these compounds are mostly bioaccumulated from a fish’s diet rather than synthesized de novo. Consistent…
Check out related resources
How do you marble cultivated beef?
GFI research grant recipient Dr. Amy Rowat is building micro-scaffolds to create the marbling in beef cultivated directly from cells.
