Chen awarded USDA NIFA grant

Ying Chen, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received a grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support research advancing food safety. The project evaluates the safety and biological effects of emerging “future foods”—including cultivated meat, plant-based proteins, and other alternative protein sources—as they move toward commercial production. With consumer interest and industry innovation accelerating in this space, the research addresses a critical need for human-centered safety assessments to ensure public health.

The project, titled “Improving Food Safety with In Vitro Human Digestive System Modeling: Assessing Future Foods,” has been in development for five years. It brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts, including Stern Family Professor David Kaplan of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Professor Mary Estes of Baylor College of Medicine, Adjunct Associate Professor at Tufts Medical Center John Leung and Associate Professor Chris Baker of The Jackson Laboratory. Together, their combined expertise significantly amplifies the project’s scientific scope and potential impact.

The research investigates how our bodies, specifically our digestive system, react to the new food sources. Beyond immediate digestion, the researchers also look at whether these foods can actually change how our genes function – essentially, flipping switches that turn genes on or off without altering the basic DNA code itself. These changes, known as epigenetics, could influence inflammation, allergic reactions, and even long-term health, including effects that might be passed down to future generations. The goal is to develop reliable testing methods to ensure the alternative proteins are safe for everyone.

“Our team has previously developed a bioengineered three-dimensional (3D) human intestinal model using patient-derived intestinal organoids,” says Chen. “Building on that work, this project will refine an in vitro digestion system integrated with the model and use it to evaluate how these future foods affect gut health and safety.” 

With support from the USDA grant, the team is poised to make meaningful contributions to the development of safe, sustainable, and human-relevant food systems.

The grant is part of a larger effort through the Novel Foods and Innovative Manufacturing Technologies program within NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). The program supports research aimed at improving the quality, safety, and sustainability of both novel and conventional foods, while advancing innovative manufacturing practices for a healthier, more resilient food system.

About Chen
Ying Chen, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. She earned her PhD degree in Biomedical Science and Engineering from the University of Maine and the Jackson Laboratory, where she trained with Dr. Tom Gridley. In 2013, she joined the Kaplan Lab at Tufts for her postdoctoral training and later transitioned to the faculty, where she continues her research in biomedical engineering. 

Her research spans a wide range of biomedical and food-related topics, including intestinal tissue engineering, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), blood-brain barrier modeling, traumatic brain injury, cultivated meat and dairy, and the health impacts of plastic pollution. Her work has been featured in leading journals such as Nature Communications, Advanced Functional Materials, and Biomaterials. As principal investigator (PI), she has secured competitive funding from the NSF, NIH, USDA, and industry partners, including Softgen, Hopewell Therapeutics, and LifeNet Health. She is also actively engaged in scientific service at institutional, national, and international levels. Her service includes participation in multiple NIH study sections, serving as a panelist for the National Science Foundation (NSF), and being invited to review proposals for the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Learn more about Research Assistant Professor Ying Chen.