Research Projects

Nature-Inspired Media Recycling

Creating a micro-ecosystem for growing cultured meat

Jake Marko
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, United States

bioreactor

media

Overview

Who: Jake Marko, bachelor’s student in biomedical engineering

When: 2020 – Present

Institutes: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, United States

Supervisors: Glenn Gaudette, professor and chair of engineering at Boston College; Tanja Dominko, professor of biological science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Summary

Jake is designing a media recycling system inspired by the natural relationship between plants and animals. In nature, plant cells use light to convert animal waste products into oxygen and nutrients. Jake is using this idea to create a synergistic micro-ecosystem that integrates media waste, which could help support self-sustaining cell culture.

Why This Matters

Media recycling has the potential to help the field deliver on its promise of environmental sustainability by making it less resource intensive. Jake’s work could reduce the cost and environmental impact of large-scale cell culture by reducing the water and transportation needed for fresh media.