Bringing lab-grown meats to menus

Imagine harvesting cells from live animals, “feeding” the cells with nutrients so they can grow in bioreactors and turning the result into delicious meat that consumers can eat. 

This is what our Life Sciences alumnus CHIN Sze Khen is working on.

As a Cellular Agriculture Facility Manager at biotechnology startup Ants Innovate Pte Ltd, Sze Khen’s work includes conducting research on cultivated meat, optimising the culture media and scaling up cell lines.

Sze Khen draws heavily on his life sciences training to plan, design and perform experiments. He also minored in Economics and he has discovered the synergies between both disciplines in his job.  

He says, “In addition to understanding cell culture, tissue engineering and bioprocessing, my knowledge in economics is useful to identify areas where process efficiencies and economies of scale can be achieved.” In all, the knowledge of both domains has proven essential in his work.

Sze Khen hopes to contribute towards a more sustainable food production system - through nutritious alternatives to conventionally produced meat, which also reduce greenhouse emissions and eliminate the need for animal slaughter at the same time!