Opportunities
Apply for up to $50K in Seed Grant Funding by May 15
This Seed Grant Program serves to provide support for fundamental and/or applied research in the filed in
cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, or alternative proteins. The program seeks to expand the
research scope of the National Institute for Cellular Agriculture (NICA) by providing seed level funding
to support the development of novel projects within the research scope defined as cellular agriculture,
precision fermentation, or alternative proteins. The program emphasizes research topics that are
synergistic to the current NICA research aims. Proposal should describe a self-sufficient research
approach that is able to complete within the one-year funding timeline.
More details and information about how to apply here.
We are seeking applicants for up to three, fully-funded cellular agriculture PhD spots in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
Cellular agriculture (cell ag) is a rapidly growing field which seeks to address the growing environmental, animal welfare, labor, and public health concerns of industrial livestock production by creating agricultural products from cell culture. Most research currently focuses on the biological and engineering aspects of cultivated meat and other cell ag products. However, tremendous gaps in knowledge exist regarding questions like: What does a just transition to cell ag look like? How will consumer acceptance and understanding of these products evolve? What policy levers (and even safeguards) will be necessary to ensure this technology has its intended impact on the world? How does the environmental impact vary across processes and products?
We are therefore excited to be onboarding three new PhD students to the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy to explore questions like this, working under faculty with expertise in areas such as economics, sustainable food systems, food policy, life cycle assessment, nutritional epidemiology, and nutrition science. Via the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA), Tufts has a robust ecosystem of 90+ individuals from the undergraduate to faculty level working on cellular agriculture in some capacity, with most in the School of Engineering but a growing contingent at the Friedman School and elsewhere at Tufts. This is a unique opportunity for students interested in thinking about the social and environmental implications of cellular agriculture to do so side-byside with bench scientists.