Research Fellow

**Only candidates based in the United States are eligible to apply for this position.**

Advancing Solutions for Alternative Proteins: Cultivated Meat & Seafood

The Good Food Institute is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. Alongside scientists, businesses, and policymakers, GFI's teams focus on making plant-based, fermentation-enabled, and cultivated meat delicious, affordable, and accessible. Powered by philanthropy, GFI is an international network of organizations advancing alternative proteins as an essential solution needed to meet the world's climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals.

How You Will Make a Difference

Advancing the alternative protein industry will require innovations related to various existing white spaces. GFI's Advancing Solutions for Alternative Proteins (ASAP) initiative aims to identify high-priority white spaces and suggest promising research directions. This initiative aims to add additional content to our ASAP Solutions Database. The Research Fellow will be responsible for:

• Proposing 4-6 high-priority research white spaces from a list identified by GFI scientists as areas of focus for the Research Fellow project in alignment with interests and expertise.
• Conducting a literature review to understand what specific research strategies or other interventions are likely to be effective for these priority white spaces.
• Communicating findings and recommendations through new entries in the Solutions Database.
• If applicable, creating graphics to aid in the communication of ideas.
• Incorporating feedback from other team members before publication in the database.

The Research Fellow will decide which solutions to focus on in collaboration with GFI scientists. Approximately 4-6 solutions will be chosen from the following list:

• Cultivated, fermentation-derived, or hybrid surimi.
• Consumer and sensory research for alternative fish product development.
• Cell line development from food-relevant aquatic species.
• Controlling fat profiles in cultivated crustacean meat.
• Controlling myogenesis in cultivated mollusc meat.
• Investigating novel combinations of scaffolding technologies for complex whole-cut CM.
• Naturally adhesive food-grade scaffolding materials.
• Novel optimized / scalable bioreactor technologies.
• Maintaining sterile bioreactor conditions at reasonable costs.
• High-performance oxygen carriers for cultivated meat.
• Enabling optimization of fatty acid profiles by understanding tradeoffs between nutritional and organoleptic properties.
• Taking advantage of synergies between alternative proteins and other climate solutions.

Who We're Looking For

The Research Fellow must have:

• M.Sc. or Ph.D. preferred; candidates currently pursuing an M.Sc. or Ph.D. will be considered.
• Ideally, coursework or experience related to one or more of the following areas (or similar): alternative proteins, agriculture, food science, cell and molecular biology, cell culture from livestock or seafood species, scaffold biomaterials, tissue engineering, bioprocessing, nutrition, fatty acid chemistry, sensory analysis, or related topics.
• Strong writing skills.
• Experience conducting literature reviews.
• Motivation to learn about new topics.
• Strong support for GFI's philosophy and mission; demonstrated interest in public health, environmentalism, animal protection, or hunger relief.

We want the best people and we don't want biases holding us back. We are testing a third-party anonymizing tool to redact personal information from submitted applications — including name, location, contact details, and several other factors — to reduce bias and increase fairness in our process. We strongly encourage people of every race, color, orientation, age, gender, origin, and ability to apply. Because we value a diverse workplace, we prioritize an inclusive climate absent of discrimination and harassment during the application process and after you join the team.

The Fine Print

• Position Type: Independent Contractor
• Position Term: 10 hours a week for 16 weeks
• Reports to: Claire Bomkamp, Ph.D., Lead Scientist, Cultivated Meat and Seafood
• Location: Remote; United States
• Stipend: $4800, paid biweekly in 8 equal installments of $600. (To ensure organizational equity, GFI does not negotiate pay.)

Application Deadline: March 30, 2023