R&D – animal-free milk proteins and more

Five research teams consisting of a variety of Wageningen researchers in East Netherlands, will start interdisciplinary research projects to generate societal and scientific breakthroughs, such as animal-free lactoprotein and climate-robust landscapes. The teams will involve many partners in their investigations. In addition to two projects that Wageningen coordinates, the WUR Researchers are partners in four other projects.

The projects are funded by the National Science Agenda: Research on Routes by Consortia (Dutch acronym: NWA-ORC). Consortia of researchers and civic partners from the public domain and private sector collaborate intensively in design, execution and implementation of research. The idea behind this approach is that societal issues will be addressed by knowledge institutes, who will continue to work with civic organisations and businesses for the duration of the research project, thus providing a positive and structural contribution to the global knowledge society of the future. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has charged the NWO with the execution of the National Science Agenda programme. In the 2019 leg, 93.5 million euros were made available on a national level.

Project examples

Virtual Human Platform for Safety Assessment

Through co-creation with stakeholders, we will develop the world’s first Virtual Human Platform to determine the safety of chemicals and pharmaceuticals for human health based solely on human biology. By integrating innovations in data science, human tissue culture models and transition management, we will spearhead the transition to animal-free safety assessment.

Animal-free milk proteins

The researchers aim to produce milk proteins without cows. Instead, they will use yeast to create a sustainable and animal-free protein alternative with the same nutritional value and structure as in milk. They will also study how this novel protein source can be embedded in society in a responsible way.

CASTOR (CAtchment Strategies TOwards Resilience)

Sandy-soil landscapes of the East and South Netherlands have a wide range of agricultural, recreational and natural functions. These functions are threatened by climate. Using a living lab approach, the researchers identify climate-robust landscapes for the future, and together with government and societal partners they will design pathways towards these.

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Source: Wageningen University & Research