A tenure track is a career path for an academic staff member that progresses from assistant professor, through associate professor, to full professor. The duration of the track is approximately ten years.
Tenure-track researchers play a crucial role in securing the field of cellular agriculture research. They begin by establishing their research groups and investing in research infrastructure with financial support from the National Growth Fund. Subsequently, the universities take over this support, enabling the tenure-track researchers to successfully maintain their own groups.
Currently, tenure-track positions exist at three universities where work is being conducted on broad, knowledge-intensive technologies; these serve as a foundation for new innovations and provide an impetus for further research.
These are:
Technische Universiteit Delft (TU Delft)
TU Delft is working on cell culture: scaling up stem cell cultivation for large-scale production. The tenure-track position makes it possible to further develop knowledge of stem cell cultivation—combined with existing expertise in process technology—and apply it to the field of cellular agriculture. The tenure-track researcher is Josh Flack.
More information about the research: Josh Flack Group
Wageningen University & Research (WUR)
WUR is working on precision fermentation using various production organisms. The tenure-track position makes it possible to apply this expertise to the field of cellular agriculture and contribute to the protein transition. Tenure tracker is Josué Heinrich
More information about the research: Cellular agriculture
Universiteit Maastricht (UM)
UM is the alma mater of Mosa Meat and possesses expertise in tissue engineering within the field of regenerative medicine. The tenure-track position enables UM to further expand this knowledge and apply it to cellular agriculture. This is essential for advancing the structuring process during the differentiation phase of cultured meat. Tenure tracker is David Kilian
More information about the research: research group at MERLN