Catalysing a world-leading sustainable protein industry with global impact
The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein Annual Conference 2026, taking place on 2–3 March 2026, is the UK and Europe’s leading international forum dedicated to the science, technology, investment, and policy shaping the future of sustainable protein. As one of three global centres established by the Bezos Earth Fund, alongside sister hubs in Singapore (Asia) and the United States (North America), the conference serves as the primary convening point for the EMEA and UK ecosystem, connecting global leaders committed to advancing a more sustainable, affordable, and resilient food system.
About us
Supported by the Bezos Earth Fund, we drive the sustainable protein revolution and advance microbial food innovation through cutting-edge science, advanced fermentation technologies, and strategic collaboration.
Together, we unite academia and industry to develop nutritious, affordable, and scalable protein solutions that strengthen global food system resilience, reduce environmental impact, and advance the circular economy.
Through translation and commercialisation, we address global challenges in health, sustainability, and food security, transforming food systems into models that are sustainable, healthy, and equitable.
Programme
Day 1 | Monday 2 March
- 08.30 Registration and networking
- 09.30 Welcome
Professor Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director, Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein and Microbial Food Hub, Professor of Engineering Biology, Imperial College London
Professor Hugh Brady, President, Imperial College London
Dr Andy Jarvis, Director of Future Food, Bezos Earth Fund. - 10.10 Panel: Global insights – The future food frontier
Chair: Dr Andy Jarvis, Director Future Food, Bezos Earth Fund
Dr Luz Maria De Regil, Director Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organisation (WHO)
Dr Lynnette Neufeld, Director Food and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Roderick Saper, Director of University R&D Innovation at WorldTradeX, Executive Director at NEU Reach - 10.40 Coffee
- 11.20 Short talks: Leveraging enabling technologies
Professor Paul Freemont, Professor of Structural and Synthetic Biology, Vice-Director of
the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, Imperial College London
Professor Dame Julia King, The Baroness Brown of Cambridge, House of Lords
Dr Lucy Colwell, Research Scientist, Google - 12.20 Panel: Leveraging enabling technologies – Getting the foundations right
Chair: Dr David Bryant, Senior Research Fellow at IBERS, Aberystwyth University
Professor Chris Chuck, Technical Lead, The Clean Food Group and Professor in Bioprocess Engineering, University of Bath
Dr Izzy Webb, Director for Technology, Strategy & Security, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
Dr Isabel Garcia Perez, Associate Professor in Precision and Systems Medicine, Imperial College London
Dr Leandro Buchmann, Head of Bioprocessing, Bühler Group - 12.50 Message from our sponsor eCyteBio (Day 1 lunch sponsor)
- 13.00 Lunch
- 14.20 Short Talks: Fermenting our Future Food
Professor Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Director, Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein
and Microbial Food Hub, Professor of Engineering Biology, Imperial College London
Dr Wen Shan Yew, Associate Professor & Head of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore
Dr Pia Sörensen, Senior Preceptor in Chemical Engineering and Applied Materials, Harvard University
Dr Shintaro Iwatani, Corporate Executive, General Manager, Research & Business Planning Department, Ajinomoto - 15.40 Coffee
- 16.20 Panel: Fermenting our future food
Chair: Professor Dimitris Charalampopoulos, Professor of Food Biotechnology, University of Reading, Vice-Director of the Microbial Food Hub
Dr Barbara Navé, Senior Scientist & Project Lead, BASF
Dr André Canelas, Senior R&D Manager Fermentation, Lesaffre International
Professor Morten Sommer, Scientific Director, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for
Biosustainability (DTU)
Dr Sonja Billerbeck, Associate Professor in Microbial Engineering, Imperial College London - 16.50 Early career researcher spotlight: The next wave of sustainable protein
- 17.20 Poster session and networking
Day 2 | Tuesday 3 March
- 08.30 Coffee and networking
- 09.00 Food for thought – The value of the ecosystem
Keynote: Bruce Friedrich, President of the Good Food Institute (GFI), author of Meat - 09.15 Panel: Food for thought – The value of the ecosystem
Chair: Bruce Friedrich, President of the Good Food Institute (GFI), author of Meat
Linda Bedenik, Head of Biosolutions & International Policy, BioIndustry Association (BIA)
Lorena Savani, Director of Biotech and Protein Thematic Leadership, EIT Food
Vincent Brain, General Manager, Bridge2Food
Nick Bradley, Co-founder & Editorial Director, Future of Protein Production/Editor,
Protein Production Technology International - 09.45 Short talks: Cell to sell – Scaling the cultivated meat revolution
Professor Karen Polizzi, Professor of Biotechnology, Vice-Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, the Microbial Food Hub, and Co-Director NAPIC
Professor David Kaplan, Director, Tufts University Centre for Cellular Agriculture
Owen Ensor, CEO, Meatly
Dr Will Milligan, Founder and CEO, Extracellular - 10.50 Coffee
- 11.30 Panel: Cell to sell – Scaling the cultivated meat revolution
Chair: Professor Rohan A. Shirwaiker, Director for the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein, NC State University
Ben Kinder, VP Manufacturing & Operations, Ivy Farm Technologies
Dr Francesca Ceroni, Associate Professor in Cell Engineering, Imperial College London
Dr Petra Hanga, Associate Professor in Biochemical Engineering,
University College London, Co-Founder & CSO Quest Meat
Dr Max Jamilly, Co-founder, Hoxton Farms - 12.00 Panel: Regulating the future – Enabling innovation in novel foods
Chair: John-Felipe Murphy, Regulation and Scale-Up Manager, Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, Imperial College London
Rebecca Sudworth, Director of Policy, Food Standards Agency (FSA)
Dr Océane Albert, Novel Foods Product Safety Team Leader, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
Dr Hannah Lester, Founder & CEO, ATOVA Regulatory Consulting
Dr Yvonne Dommels, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs Director, The Protein Brewery - 12.30 Lunch
- 13.50 Short talks: Next-generation plant proteins – From crops to ingredients
Host: Dr Parag Acharya, Associate Professor in Food Innovation, University of Greenwich
Professor Pam Ismail, Professor and Director, Plant Protein Innovation Center, University of Minnesota
Professor Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, James Hutton Institute & Co-Director NAPIC
Dr Phil Howell, Research Lead, Crop Genetic Resources, Niab
Christoph Jenny, Co-Founder & CEO, Planted - 15.15 Coffee
- 16.00 Panel: Next-generation plant proteins – From crops to ingredients
Chair: Professor Weibiao Zhou, Acting Director, Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, National
University of Singapore (NUS); Head, Department of Food Science and Technology, NUS
Dr Kelsey Kanyuck, Principal Scientist, THIS™
Anthony Warner, Consultant Development Chef, New Food Innovation & Food Writer
Dr Christophe Schmitt, Senior Expert Proteins, Nestlé Research
Adriana De Camargo, Global RD&A Innovation Program Lead, Kerry - 16.30 Panel: Ingredients for future food
Chair: Dr Stephen French, Scientific Policy Director, Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST)
Dr Fabio Campanile, Head of Science & Technology, Givaudan
Professor Gary Frost, Head of Nutrition Research, Lead for Centre for Translational Nutrition and Food Research, Imperial College London
Dr Maya Bendifallah, Co-Founder & CSO, Nutropy
Dr Andrew Spicer, CTO & Founder, Algenuity - 17.00 Panel: Fuelling the future
Chair: Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost of Research and Enterprise, Imperial College London
Vicky Grinnell, Food Tech/Futures Lead, Lloyds Corporate and Institutional
Deborah Zajac, General Partner, SOSV
Rosie Wardle, Co-Founder & Partner, Synthesis Capital
Fábio Faria Oliveira, Senior Scientific Manager – Food Biotech, Novo Nordisk Foundation - 17.30 Closing remarks