Research Fellow

The Good Food Institute (GFI) is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. Alongside scientists, businesses, and policymakers, GFIs teams focus on making plant-based, fermentation-derived, 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 worlds climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to apply your scientific background to assess the tractability of lactate recovery during cultivated meat production. This research will be crucial in informing potential ways to reduce the environmental impact and create potential new revenue streams for future, scaled cultivated meat manufacturing. The Research Fellow will be responsible for:

• Conducting a literature review of the current state of the art for capturing lactate out of solution with a focus on the percentage of recovery that is achievable and the costs of different methods.
• Conducting interviews with cultivated meat companies that are willing to share information or data on lactate production and recovery methods.
• Assembling estimates for lactate production as a metabolic byproduct during cultivated meat manufacturing based on primary literature data theoretical models, and data from cultivated meat companies.
• Creating a model, based on rates of lactate production and recovery, that estimates the amount of lactate that could be recovered from a cultivated meat production process at scale.
• Using the model to answer questions such as, how much lactate is expected to be produced during cultivated meat production? How much of the carbon footprint of cultivated meat production could be offset if lactate was captured and allocated as a co-product during production? Could the sales of captured lactate as a co-product (e.g., into poly-lactic acid production) outweigh the costs, enabling additional revenue streams for cultivated meat manufacturers?
• Answering additional questions such as, what are the impacts of different allocation methods for lactate? Could this be done today, or is further optimization needed? What research gaps or other limitations exist in making lactate valorization feasible? What solutions would you propose to alleviate those limitations?
• Assembling the figures and findings from the research and modeling in a manuscript to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal focused on environmental impact or special issues related to cultivated meat.
• Communicating the findings to a broader audience in a co-authored blog post.

The Research Fellow must have:

• Ph.D. preferred; candidates currently pursuing a Ph.D. or candidates with a B.S. or M.Sc. with an additional 2-4+ years of relevant experience can also apply.
• Strong scientific writing skills.
• Ability to perform independent, self-paced work.
• Coursework or other experience with life cycle assessment methodology, including allocation.
• A strong understanding of cultivated meat manufacturing processes and familiarity with life cycle and techno-economic studies that have been published.
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Strong support for GFIs philosophy and mission; demonstrated interest in plant-based & other alt proteins, public health, environmentalism, climate change, animal protection, or hunger relief.
• A commitment to GFIs values: believe change is possible, do the most good we can, share knowledge freely, act on evidence, and invite everyone to the table.

We want the best people and we dont want biases holding us back. We use 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. Since 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.

Research indicates that men tend to apply for jobs when they meet just 60% of the criteria, while women and people from other marginalized groups only apply if they are a 100% match. If you are passionate about GFIs mission and think you have what it takes to be successful in this role even if you dont check all the boxes, please apply. Wed appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

• Position Type: Independent Contractor
• Position Term: 6 hours per week for 24 weeks. 28 additional paid hours are budgeted for any future revision work for the peer-reviewed manuscript.
• Reports to: Elliot Swartz, Principal Scientist, Cultivated Meat
• Location: Remote, United States
• Stipend: $4320 and will be paid pro-rata biweekly over the length of the assignment ($30/hour for 24 weeks)

• Application Deadline: March 14, 2024
• Anticipated Start Date: April 15, 2024

GFI uses an anonymized hiring system that redacts key identifying personal information from all applications. We are testing this tool as part of an effort to reduce bias in our hiring process. Following these instructions will help to ensure your application is not delayed by a failed redaction.

• Where possible, limit the creative formatting of your documents. If the name on your resume is an inserted image file or is styled with large spaces between each letter, for example, the redaction is likely to fail. Colors and designs are OK, but wherever possible, the text itself should just be regular text.
• Please use consistent names. It helps to ensure that the name you use in your resume and cover letter is the same as the name you type into the application below. For example, if your name is Jennifer, please sign your cover letter as "Jennifer" rather than "Jenny."
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• Please do not contact the roles supervisor or any potential member of the hiring team. If you have questions, please email careers@gfi.org.

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