The Future Project – Affilated Companies

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Quantal Bioscience

The Future Project has been very fortunate, despite the events this year, to see the companies involved continue to grow. Quantal Bioscience, who have been with TFP since its inception in 2014, has seen new staff join their company to assist them with their research work and in delivering science education programs. Together, we are planning on embedding more of their authentic research into our Science programs across Years 7 to 12.

Quantal Bioscience is a research microbiology laboratory, that studies micro-organisms and how they affect all parts of our life. This includes our food and having safe food to eat, how we grow food and having productive agriculture soil, and our health – how healthy the microbes are in our guts. Ultimately looking at complex communities of micro-organisms.

2020 has been a particularly exciting year for the Quantal Bioscience team as they have had a major upgrade in their research technology. Now using a new cutting-edge nanopore sequencing technology, they are able to do DNA sequencing of these complex micro-organism communities. “Being able to do the DNA sequencing means we can identify many more bacteria in those populations, much easier than before,” states Dr Michelle Bull, Principal Microbiologist for Quantal Bioscience. “Some of these microbes are really hard to grow in the laboratory and it would take a long time to specifically isolate them from these environments, but now we can look at the totality of the microbes – the bacteria and fungi and the impact those have on food safety, food quality or the productivity of soil in our crops, as well as how our gut responds.”

To put it in perspective – the nanopore sequencing tool is so ground-breaking that it is currently being used during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been utilised as one of the testing methods, as well as to help determine different clusters from different outbreaks from different countries.

With only eight other research organisations within universities and hospitals using this technology, Quantal Bioscience is the first of its kind to bring this advance technology to the high school level. The new nanopore sequencing tool came to The King’s School lab in August and within one week TFP Junior Interns were able to use the technology.

“Having these amazing King’s facilities to work in and then having access to these tools and putting them in the hands of students is extremely powerful for their engagement with science,” says Dr Michelle Bull. It’s quite remarkable to think King’s students are using the same innovative technology as PhD students and other professionals.

Quantal Bioscience is without doubt setting up our young learners for the brightest possible future – not just in science but in all industries. “What we’re teaching the students is bioinformatics - it’s about taking large data sets, crunching those numbers and finding the patterns. It’s the absolute biggest growth area for jobs in almost any domain you can think of,” said Dr Belinda Chapman, Director and a Principal Microbiologist for Quantal Bioscience. It’s all about ‘Big Data’!

Vow

Vow who joined TFP in 2019 as a start-up company, formed by Tim Noakesmith and George Peppou, has grown to now include 18 researchers and engineers who have come to us from all over the world. 2020 has been an especially big year for the Vow, having many exciting break-through moments – even gaining attention on an international scale. food source, Vow are using animal cells, both domesticated and undomesticated, to create a new food category – artificially produced in The King’s School laboratory.

Vow hit a major milestone this year as they showcased their new range of cultured meat products in a world-first culinary demonstration. Using six different animal species selected from Vow’s diverse cell library, the demonstration included kangaroo, pig, lamb, alpaca, rabbit and goat.

“Until now the cultured meat industry has been focused on better ways of making the meat we most commonly eat today,” said George Peppou, Co-founder & CEO of Vow. “This milestone demonstrates we can grow the cells of any animal, not just those we can farm, marking a turning point for the cultured meat industry and our food system as a whole. To make food without compromise, we must stop looking backward to how our ancestors produced and ate food and instead choose how we will eat in the future.”

Working in creative partnership with Australian famous chef and founder of the Rockpool restaurant empire, Neil Perry and Executive Chef Corey Costelloe, the team has put together a trial menu so enticing, that it foreshadows a shift in the way we consume meat products. Diners could enjoy goat cheeseburger sliders, alpaca chili tarama, kangaroo crystal dumplings, a rabbit tart with peas and mushroom or a lamb glassy scallop with tofu and mushroom.

Chefs, Neil Perry and Corey Costelloe in the kitchen with Vow

“The work Vow is doing is awesome. Blending deep technology with the culinary world opens a new creative era in food, and does so in a way that’s sustainable for future generations. I think that’s an incredibly exciting thing to be a part of,” says Neil Perry.

Tim Noakesmith, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Vow says, “We’re now hiring a world class team of chefs, food scientists and sensory experts, from around the world, to turn biology breakthroughs into widely decadent food experiences.”

“This has been an exciting moment for us, and really shows what we’re capable of technically,” said Tim Noakesmith.

With global demand for meat products growing, it’s Vow’s goal to rebuild food from the ground up by offering more delicious and nutritious meat, than what is currently offered on the market today. Their approach will reduce the pressure of traditional animal agriculture, while also benefiting human health, reducing animal suffering and promoting food security.

2020 has seen Vow draw much attention, both in Australia and internationally, with impressive praise coming from Forbes Magazine. Vow’s achievement deemed them a place in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 - Asia - Industry, Manufacturing and Energy list.

https://www.youtube.comwatch ?v=D1BR35RMAFg&feature=youtube

ALGATEX

A new company called ALGATEX joined TFP in 2020. Their mission is to design and engineer a water bioremediation system, using algae and zeolites, to tackle the fashion industry’s ongoing issues with wastewater. Utilising algae as a resource rather than it being an environmental or waste problem, the team has developed natural dyes for fabrics using algae, ultimately aiming to reverse the negative impacts the fashion industry has on the ecosystem.

There is a growing trend of fast fashion, meaning the textile miles are producing more garments from our favourite brands, leading to more pollution being generated and dumped into our environment. This is where ALGATEX comes in. “We remove heavy metals from textile wastewater by using all-natural algal bio-solutions that are biodegradable, cost effective, less water reliant, energy efficient and great for the planet, says ALGATEX co-founder Nick Dominique-Bouvat. This then helps circulate clean water back into polluted waterways caused by textile mills.

Working with ALGATEX really appeals to our younger TFP interns as both fashion and the environment are extremely relevant topics for these generations. “They want socially conscious brands that celebrate their individuality,” says ALGATEX co-founder Isabel Toasa. “2020 certainly seemed like the year that wouldn’t quit and neither did we! Despite the obvious pandemic circumstance, it has been a phenomenal year for us,” says ALGATEX co-founder, Samantha Roberts. ALGATEX completed their rigorous 6-month R&D sprint with the UTS Green Light Accelerator Program - the only algae-based program of its own in the world - taking their concept from ideation to testing to launch. Their partnership with The King’s School and TFP saw them using world-class-facilities such as the PC2 lab in the Science Centre – the perfect space needed to conduct more critical testings. And to cap off the year, the team won the Most Sustainable Business Award at the 2020 UTS Startups Awards, giving them much-needed publicity in the agtech space.

In 2021, we can expect big things from ALGATEX as they move into the MVP (minimum viable product) phase. “In this stage, we’re looking to cultivate our own algae by building not 1, but 4 bioreactors at The King’s School, says co-founder Nick Dominique-Bouvat. They also look to roll out a new ‘Green-Conscious Fashion’ Program for TFP interns.

Quantal Bioscience, VOW and ALGATEX are changing the course of industry and society, and are proof that the future will be new, exciting and profoundly different. The Future Project intern students are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these incredible companies.