#006 - Academic research in cultivated meat with Rachael Floreani

Rachael is an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, and Food Systems whose current research interests include cultivated meat.

In this episode

• Rachael's interdisciplinary journey to working on cultivated meats
• The control engineers have over the mechanical properties of cultivated meat
• The increasing importance of engineers in the cultivated meat industry
• The funding constraints for cellular agriculture and cultivated meat research
• The value of engineers understanding business concepts and taking career risks for greater impact
• Work-life balance in academia
• Rachael’s advice for people interested in entering academia
• How to test your fit for research and how to pitch research ideas to professors

Full show notes: http://engineeredforimpact.show/rachael

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e8qIjwH7_tc

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:35) Rachael's journey

(00:07:17) Role models

(00:09:27) Work life balance

(00:11:16) Multidisciplinary work

(00:13:44) Cultivated meat materials

(00:19:31) Engineering in cultivated meats

(00:26:22) Funding challenges

(00:33:07) Research community

(00:35:22) Values

(00:40:46) Business education/experience

(00:46:24) Scale up challenges

(00:51:41) Academic research

(00:55:44) Advice for becoming a researcher

(01:04:57) Pitching research ideas to professors

(01:10:28) Resources for people interested in the space

(01:12:18) What do you wish you had invented?

(01:15:31) Where to learn more about Rachael's research