The main theme of this year’s New Harvest conference was bioreactors.

The standard process for cellular agriculture, also known as lab-grown meat or clean meat, is to sample some cells from the desired animal, culture them, assemble them on a scaffold, and grow the cells in industrial volumes. Similar processes have been developed to produce artificial insulin and rennet with the aid of engineered microbes.

The sampling and culturing of cells have been standard practice in research and biopharma for years. Previous conferences discussed the steps to take when the original cells are cows and pigs rather than human and cancer. This year those considerations were understood to be feasible. The next hurdle, as many hopeful start-up unicorns know, is scaling up. That is where bioreactors come in. The big question at this point in the industry is: how can we grow enough of these cells to make a difference in the market, at a price that is competitive, with sustainable and ethical materials?

Every New Harvest conference starts with the New Harvest Fellows presenting their research for the community. Santiago Campuzano from the University of Ottawa showed how his lab has been decellularizing celery to use as scaffolding for cell growth. Next Scott Allan of the University of Bath went over different types of bioreactors their pros and cons.  Tufts researcher 

Natalie Rubio brought a different perspective by discussing the potential of invertebrate cells for bio fabricated food. 

Would people be willing to eat protein derived from bugs?

Additional sponsored research was displayed in the poster area.

After a coffee break, the presentations turned from the lab to the marketplace. Geraldine Paulus gave an overview of the history and mission of the Engine, a venture fund started by MIT to address tough problems with long solution timelines. While the Engine doesn’t currently have any cellular agriculture companies in their portfolio, the industry’s location at the intersection of medicine and agriculture makes it a natural fit for the Engine’s approach to investing. Deb Arceolo presented about her experiences creating transparency at the Hershey Company and what those lessons could mean for getting the public comfortable with lab-grown meat. Last year’s New Harvest Conference had similar presentations about lessons that could be learned from the roll-out of GMO foods, showing that the story is as important to success as the science.

After lunch, the next series of speakers focused on the engineering hurdles of cellular agriculture. Will Patrick, Culture Biosciences, brought the power of cloud computing to the next generation of automated, high-throughput bioreactors as service. Continuing the theme of automation, 

Nick Legendre from New Age Meats presented an eye-opening talk on the parameters required for cultured meat production and how they can only truly be optimized in combination, not isolation. Automation and machine learning allow researchers to test many protocol variations in a short period of time. Nina Buffi from OSPIN shared an analysis of bioreactors from an economic perspective, comparing types of bioreactors and the business model associated with each one.

After another coffee break, it was time to turn the conversation to the particulars of culturing seafood. Lou Cooperhouse of BlueNalu gave an overview of the why and how of cellular aquaculture, followed by local Tim Sullivan from the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute talking about how his organization is bringing biotechnology to fisheries and Marlin Keith Cox of Seafood Analytics did a deep dive into the data that can be measured in muscle tissue.

That was a long day, so the conference turned more informal with an open mic, group photo, and happy hour.

The second day of the conference started bright and early with Meera Zassenhaus speaking briefly about Community Engagement at New Harvest. Since cellular agriculture is a new industry, laws are having a hard time keeping up with the science. Brian Sylvester, Special Counsel at Foley & Lardner LLP, Rohini Bansksota, Director Of Policy At Finless Foods, and Eric Schulze, VP of Product and Regulation at Memphis Meats, shared the stage to discuss the regulatory landscape, which has been especially active over the last year. 

Another panel followed after coffee with speakers sharing their experiences with cellular agriculture around the globe. Podcast host Alex Shirazi presented an overview of cellular agriculture hotspots. Singapore was represented by Ka Yi Ling of Shiok Meats, which was in the news recently for their public tasting of dumplings with lab-grown shrimp meat. The Netherlands was represented by Jonathan Breemhaar, Lead Automation Engineer at Mosa Meats, creator of the famous hamburger that started the second wave of cellular agriculture (more on that later). Nick Beaumont from Heuros spoke about the cellular agriculture-related opportunities in Australia, and Shir Friedman, Head Of Communications At SuperMeat, shared that Israel is a particularly beneficial location in which to launch an alternative food company, of which it has more per capita than any other country in the world. Lisa Feria, CEO at Stray Dog Capital, moderated.

Another break, this time for lunch, brought together a third panel discussing careers in cellular agriculture. David Bowman from Mission Barns, Jun Axup from IndieBio, Justin Kolbeck from Wild Type, Kate Krueger from New Harvest and moderator Meera Zassenhaus shared their individual circuitous paths to their current roles and explained what types of skills and experiences cellular agriculture companies are hiring for. Surprisingly, it’s not all science and research. As cellular agriculture grows as an industry and gets closer to interacting with the public the way traditional food companies do, there is a growing need to people who can bridge the conversation between the lab, the production floor, and the business world. 

The day ended with a turn to the social sciences. Garrett Broad of Fordham University shared lessons from the academic world of communications studies on how to build trust with the public. Step one: assume the relationship will be a dialogue, not just a one-way flow of information from the expert to the uninformed. Step two: take people’s concerns seriously.

The final presentation was with Neil Stephens from Brunel University London, who has been studying the cultured meat community since 2008. He has tracked the fascinating change in narrative from academic to start-ups, from in vitro meat to lab meat to clean meat to cellular agriculture. He shared that the unveiling of the Mosa Meat burger in 2013 was a game-changer in the community, solidifying the narrative around cellular agriculture as a sustainable, ethical technology aimed at meat-eaters.

The post 3DHeals at New Harvest 2019: Bioreactors, Bugs for food, and More appeared first on 3DHeals.

Earlier this month, the 3DHeals community joined the staff of the Design Museum of Boston for a tour of their current exhibit: Bespoke Bodies: The Design and Craft of Prosthetics (https://designmuseumfoundation.org/boston/blog/2019/01/24/bespoke-bodies-design-craft-prosthetics-boston/), on view at the Prudential Center through the end of August. We learned about the prosthetics for different parts of the body and their related challenges, how prosthetics design has advanced from passive to body-powered to electric, and the process that each amputee goes through to have a prosthetics fitted. A timeline showed the history of prosthetic design from ancient Egypt through the Civil War and into today. Hanger Clinic Manager Maggie Baumer generously showed us her prosthetic, which had been painted to match her other hand by one of the artists featured in the exhibit.

The prosthetics on display ranged from fashion pieces to high-performance devices used by Olympic athletes. Of particular interest to our group were several displays on the use of 3D scanning and printing, which allow for the creation of low-cost prosthetics for underserved populations such as children and the developing world.

At the end of the tour, attendees were able to experience MiGO, a new virtual reality experience by Hanger Clinic which immerses viewers in the lives of people with limb loss. For those who already possess VR goggles, MiGo is available to download. (http://hangerclinic.com/new-patient/Pages/GetMigo.aspx)

Related Articles:

3D Scanning and 3D Printing for Creating Affordable Prostheses

A Helping Hand to Those in Need—Improving the World with 3D Printing

3D Scanning for Prostheses

Interview: Mr. Jerry Evans, CEO of Nia Technologies Inc.

The post Bespoke Bodies: Boston Learns About the Design of Prosthetics appeared first on 3DHeals.

On July 20-21, the cellular agriculture research institute New Harvest had their annual conference at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 3DHEALS Community Manager for Boston, Jess Charlap, attended the conference to investigate the overlap between 3D printing for healthcare, especially bio-printing, and cellular agriculture, also known as lab-grown meat.
What is New Harvest?
Established in 2004, New Harvest supports research that reinvents the way we make animal products. By applying advances in tissue engineering and synthetic biology to growing food, New Harvest plans to revolutionize the supply chain of animal products to continue to provide affordable and sustainable food to a growing population. They call this “cellular agriculture.”
Cellular agriculture can produce eggs, milk, meat, and more without intensive crop and animal farming. Unfortunately, this nascent field is not well supported by existing research funding mechanisms. New Harvest encourages innovation inn cellular agriculture by funding research, bringing together the community, and educating the public in a transparent and science-based manner.
Who Spoke at the Conference?

Conversations

Presenters at the New Harvest Conference ranged from academic researchers, regulators, entrepreneurs, lawyers, biohackers, engineers, industry analysts, and philosophers. New Harvest Communications Directors Erin Kim served as Master of Ceremonies and introduced the speakers. A full list of speakers and topics can be found here.
The exhibit hall featured networking opportunities, samples, and information from startups, researchers, and cellular agriculture adjacent organizations. New cellular agriculture companies like Because Animals, Higher Steaks, Kiran Meats, New Age Meats, and Sea future Sustainable Biotech joined relative old-timers Geltor, Finless Foods, Ecovative, nonfood, and Ginkgo Bioworks. New Harvest Research Director Kate Krueger was on hand to discuss recent grants and projects, supported by informational posters on the far wall of the exhibit hall

Ecovative mycelium furniture

Who Attended the Conference?
Most of the audience members I spoke with were researchers and entrepreneurs looking to build partnerships and learn about where the cellular agriculture industry is headed. Many identified as vegan and were passionate about a future without animal agriculture. Others were fascinated by tissue engineering or the profit potential of disrupting animal agriculture.
Big Themes/Takeaways
A big takeaway from the New Harvest Conference was how far away this technology is from being commercially viable and widely available. The industry frontrunners are very aware of the challenges they will need to overcome in terms of government regulation, scalability, market forces, and public acceptance. Several themes developed over the course of the conference:
Learn from others. The traditional agriculture industry, other ground-breaking technology, manufacturing engineers, and academia can all contribute to a successful commercial launch. Competition among organizations at this stage of cellular agriculture could stifle innovation and hold everyone back. In general, openness has more to offer than secrecy.
Keep an eye on the regulatory pathway. These products are very new. Safety is going to be a key consumer concern. Engaging with government officials early will prevent later roadblocks. A rush to market or dismissal of ethical concerns could prevent effective engagement with the stakeholders needed for widespread acceptance.
Build conversations through stories. Food is an emotional topic. Finding the right language to convince politicians and investors that this technology is safe, viable, and necessary will be key to the future of bio fabrication. A unified voice will benefit the entire industry as it grows. The word “meat” is a particular point of tension between the traditional and cellular agriculture industries. (see this article in the Atlantic for more)
What’s the Connection to the 3DHEALS Community?
I attended the conference anticipating that the main overlap with the 3DHEALS community would be the use of 3D printing for cellular scaffolds and the supply chain issues around cell culture media. While those topics were covered, I was struck by the potential health benefits of food designed at the molecular level as well as the more philosophical issues will probably confront lab-grown organs as well as lab-grown meat.
Again and again, the answer to anticipated challenges was to build coalitions and community. The more supporters and partners cellular agriculture has, the stronger it will be as a market force and the more likely it will be to affect change. 3DHEALS could be a key partner in that coalition. I invite everyone with an interest in 3D printing for healthcare to take a look at New Harvest and similar organizations such as the Good Food Institute. There is a lot we can learn from each other.

The post 3DHEALS goes to the New Harvest Conference! appeared first on 3DHeals.