Fungi are “nature’s biological recycling machines,” says guest Vayu Hill-Maini, a former chef turned bioengineer. That is, they take waste and turn it into good things. Hill-Maini now melds his scientific and culinary skills to create new foods, but also medicines, faux leather, pigments and other valuable products from mushrooms and molds. He uses CRISPR gene editing technology to “domesticate” these fungi – removing off-flavors and increasing nutritional content to make new-age cheeses, burgers, salami, and more. “We call it the DBTL cycle – design, build, taste, learn,” Hill-Maini tells host Russ Altman about his creative process on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.
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Stanford Profile: Vayu Hill-Maini
Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / FacebookRuss Altman introduces guest Vayu Hill-Maini, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.
(00:03:33) From Chef to Bioengineer
How Hill-Maini’s culinary background led him to study food through science.
(00:05:23) Building a Lab with a Kitchen
Why his Stanford lab combines bioengineering research with culinary experimentation.
(00:07:32) What Are Fungi?
A primer on yeasts, molds, mushrooms, and their role in food and medicine.
(00:10:22) Domesticating Fungi
How humans have shaped fungi over thousands of years.
(00:14:23) Mushrooms as a Food Source
The nutrients, proteins, vitamins, and beneficial molecules found in fungi.
(00:16:21) Fungi as Biological Recyclers
Using fungi to turn food waste, agricultural waste, and other materials into useful products.
(00:18:22) Making Waste-Based Foods Desirable
Why taste, emotion, and culinary design matter for sustainable foods.
(00:20:22) Engineering Delicious Fungi
Using genetics and CRISPR to improve flavor, nutrition, and usability.
(00:22:50) Gentle Genetic Tweaks
Making small changes to reduce off-flavors or enhance useful traits.
(00:23:46) Design, Build, Taste, Learn
How the lab moves between kitchen and bench science to improve foods.
(00:24:06) Chefs in the Lab
How culinary collaborators help guide research and creativity.
(00:28:58) Fungi-Based Materials
The potential to create textiles, leather alternatives, and building materials.
(00:31:03) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: sustainability, students, and the promise of fungi.
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