2021-2022 Events

12pm EST, Monday April 25th

Hear from experts about the role of alternative fats in the alternative protein industry!  This hour-long event will include an introduction of each panelist, a moderated discussion on all things alt fats, and a Q&A from the audience.

Meet the panelists:

David Bergenholm, Senior Scientist at Melt & Marble, a Swedish startup using precision fermentation to produce designer fats

Parendi Birdie, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Mission Barns, a US-based cultivated animal fat startup

Jen-Yu Huang, Co-Founder of Lypid, a US-based startup making microencapsulated plant-based fats

Ed Steele, Co-founder of Hoxton Farms, a UK-based cultivated animal fat startup

6pm EST, Monday May 2nd

Raychel Santo is Senior Program Coordinator, Food Production & Public Health, Food Communities & Public Health, at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF).

“Raychel’s interests in preventive health, environmental sustainability, and community empowerment began with her discovery of the sustainable food movement. Double-majoring in Public Health and Global Environmental Change & Sustainability at Hopkins, Raychel directed her studies to better understand how pesticides, toxicants, and environmental conditions affect human and ecological health. She learned about the physical effects and psychological influences of our diets; how climate change will affect local, regional, and global food production and security; and the social and political implications of various food policies. After completing her Master’s degree in Food, Space & Society at Cardiff University School of Geography & Planning with the support of the US-UK Fulbright Commission, Raychel returned to the CLF full-time in spring 2017.“

APP hosted Rita Chuang from Spiber, a Japanese biotechnology company that makes silk through the fermentation of microorganisms!

Rita is a UC Berkeley Chemistry graduate who moved to Japan to work at Spiber nearly 5 years ago, where she is now Project Lead. Rita will give us a quick overview on the science behind Spiber’s products – such as their microorganism-derived silk protein, Brewed Protein™, which they have used to create alternatives to silk, wool, and more! After her lecture you’ll have the chance to ask her any questions you’d like about Spiber, her personal journey into alternative proteins, what it’s like to work in Japan, and much more!

7pm EST, Wednesday April 6th

Dr. Liz Specht graduated from Hopkins with a BS in ChemBE in 2009, completed her PhD in Biological Sciences at UC San Diego, then worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder building whole-cell biosensor platforms. As current Vice President of Science and Technology at the Good Food Institute, she has advised and supported multiple start-up companies and established companies in this emerging alternative protein field.

Nicole Cheng graduated from Hopkins with a BS in ChemBE in 2019 and MS in Engineering Management in 2020. Now, she is an associate process development engineer at Perfect Day, recently evaluated as TIME100 most influential companies of 2022. The company specializes in animal-free milk protein through recombinant gene expression in microbes, and has launched the world’s first animal-free whey protein powder.

Lana Weidgenant graduated from Hopkins with a BS in Public Health in 2020. She is currently a campaign and policy manager working at ProVeg International, and a deputy partnerships director at Zero Hour. She has co-organized the largest U.S. youth climate mobilization in September 2019, and managed over 100 international partnerships including Greenpeace, Sierra Club, 350.org, UN. Previously, she was the Vice-Chair of Shifting to Sustainable Consumption Patterns at 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. 

Dr. Anne Barnhill is Core Faculty at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University, and a Research Scholar in the Global Food Ethics and Policy Program at the Berman Institute. Dr. Barnhill is a philosopher and bioethicist who works on a range of issues in the ethics of food and agricultural policy, the ethics of public health, and the ethics of influence. Her current research focuses on the ethics of non-rational persuasion and manipulation in public health and private life, including the ethics of nudges, commercial advertising and public health messaging.

7pm EST, Monday Feb 7th

Our first Spring semester event was in a new and exciting format: Gathertown! Gathertown provides a virtual environment where we can create an avatar for ourselves, walk around, and talk to new people- just as if we were networking in person!

Interested students had the chance to learn about alternative protein technology, as well what our committees are planning this semester.

Missed the event, but still interested in learning more and getting involved? Reach out to our executive members directly – we’d love to hear from you!

12-1pm EST, Thursday Sept 30th

APP hosted a panel discussion on Alternative Proteins and the Future of Food together with Hopkins’ Office of Alumni Relations – moderated by our very own Co-Founder Lauren Blake!

Attendees joined speakers from The Good Food Institute, EcoTech Capital, and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future for a conversation surrounding the future of the food industry.

David holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in plant developmental cell biology from Utrecht University. He has more than fifteen years’ experience in the life science industry, including the product development, market development and commercialization of cells, scaffolds, cell reprogramming tools and cell culture media for regenerative medicine and bioprocessing applications.

We are collaborating with a couple other chapters of the Alt Protein Project and put together a mini crash course that anyone can sign up for! This alt protein fellowship will be a great opportunity to meet others curious about alternative proteins, learn the basics, and hear others perspectives. Sign up by June 12th to participate!

Our APP podcast episode in collaboration with the Hopkins Biotech Podcast is up online now!

Listen HERE

The episode features a roundtable discussion between Norah Sadowski, Lauren Blake, Mackenzie Simon-Collins, Mc Millan Ching, Jacquelyn Bedsaul, and Christine Wang

Monday, April 5th 7-8PM EST

the Johns Hopkins Alt. Protein Project will be hosting an Alumni Meet n’ Greet with four former Hopkins students who are now working in the alternative protein field. The event will start off with introductions from each alumnus, with a few general questions posed to all of them. We will then have breakout rooms to choose from where you can ask questions to each alumnus individually in a smaller setting. ANYONE can join!

May 2021

Featuring Elliot Swartz (GFI, Sr Scientist), Brian Spears (New Age Meats, founder & CEO), Rebecca Miller (Beyond Meat, Protein Scientist), Isha Datar (executive director, New Harvest)