InnoProtein 2nd Meeting hosted by TU Dublin on 18th-19th, January 2024
On the 18th and 19th of January, 2024 the 2nd meeting of ‘InnoProtein’, an EU funded project (HORIZON-JU-CBE-2022) was hosted by Dr. Catherine Barry-Ryan and Dr. Lubna Ahmed in Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman Campus. The meeting was attended by the 14 consortium partners from nine EU countries, both in person and online. The two-day meeting was held in the Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) and allowed the partners to share their results and discuss progress on the project.
The InnoProtein project started in June 2023 with the aim of developing new sustainable proteins for food, feed and non-food biobased applications. The project seeks to investigate the application of single cell proteins (SCPs) and entomological protein sources as a means of reducing Europe’s dependency on imported protein sources, such as soybeans.
The partners were welcomed to TU Dublin by Dr. Mary Deasy, Head of Research and Innovation for Engagement and Impact and Dr. Julie Dunne, Head of the School of Food Science and Environmental Health who spoke to partners about the wide variety of research activities being carried out across the University and within the School. The attendees were given a tour of the ESHI facilities by Prof. Jesus Frias, Academic leader of ESHI. Dr. Catherine Barry-Ryan and Dr. Lubna Ahmed continued the tour of TU Dublin by giving the partners a tour of the Central Quad facilities including the Microbiology and Instrumentation laboratories, Brewing and Distilling facilities, Food Processing Hall and Sensory suites. During this tour the partners had the opportunity to hear from PhD students Nicola Sunderland (InnoProtein), Maame Ekua Manful (UP4Health) and Hitika Shah (Alehoop), who discussed their research as part of their respective projects.
The meeting was also a great opportunity for the InnoProtein partners to visit one of Irelands most popular attraction, the Guinness Storehouse, and experience a traditional Irish music and dance evening.