Research
As the first professorship of Cellular Agriculture in this intensely investigated field of research, our distinctive core skills have their roots in industrial biotechnology. These range from the development of cost-effective and efficient processes, starting with methods for strain development and process control as well as purification methods. This opens up the possibility to cover the entire process chain, and at the same time to have important efficiency parameters of industrial biotechnology in mind at an early stage.
Research at the Professorship of Cellular Agriculture addresses challenges in the field on different levels. On a molecular level, production of proteins such as albumin, collagen and growth factors is controlled by innovative regulatory mechanisms. On a cellular level, proliferation and differentiation are tuned using synthetic biology tools that enable engineered cell-environment interactions. On a scale-up level, cell culture efficiency in hydrogel-based microcarriers or perfusion systems is optimized using modern concepts of bioprocess engineering. On a level of 3D tissue engineering, bio-scaffolding vascular geometries that mitigate mass transfer limitations are designed using an AI-based approach.
The Professorship of Cellular Agriculture supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN).
Global food insecurity accelerated by overpopulation and climate change is a fundamental challenge humanity is facing in the 21st century. Cellular Agriculture as an emerging scientific field can provide efficient and cheap solutions for more nutritious agricultural products and ensure a constant supply.
Conventional animal farming extensively relies on antibiotics, which promotes the development of multi-resistant bacteria and is a source for food borne illnesses. Cellular Agriculture mitigates these two issues by redirecting the production of agricultural goods from farms and fields into biotech sites.
As part of a university in an emerging scientific field, we heavily rely on committed young scientists that bring new ideas to the table. We see our task in providing the best possible training for students and young researchers alike to shape the next generation of experts in the field of Cellular Agriculture.
With global population on the rise, the demand for animal-based products is predicted to increase. This in turn demands for an industrial infrastructure with adequate fermentation volumes and innovative bioreactor designs and concepts for efficient and economically competitive processes.
Expanding the food supply to sustainably laboratory-produced agricultural goods enables responsible consumers to make food choices based on environmental considerations, animal welfare as well as on their own personal preferences. As such, cellular agriculture can contribute to this necessary extension of a responsibly produced food supply.
The production of agricultural goods in the laboratory may contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the agri-food sector. For that purpose, the laboratory-based processes are closely examined and evaluated with the aid of life cycle assessment and iteratively optimized accordingly.
The increasing clearing of (rain-) forests to provide pasture for livestock is a growing threat to biodiversity and continues to promote desertification of large areas of land. The production of agricultural commodities in fermentation tanks would minimize excessive land use and also reduce, among other things, the wash-out of manure-generated nitrogen and the discharge of fertilizers (e.g. used for intensified feed production) into groundwater.