USDA’s First Cultivated Meat Center “NICA” Opens Applications for Research Grants

The USDA's National Institute of Cellular Agriculture (NICA) at Tufts University has opened applications for its Seed Grant Program 2024. The program offers funding grants of $25,000 or $50,000 to support research in cellular agriculture, precision fermentation, and alternative proteins. Only primary investigators not associated with NICA are eligible to submit proposals that align with NICA's objectives and can be completed within one year. The center, established in 2021 with a $10 million USDA grant, represents the US Department of Agriculture's first investment in cultivated meat.

NICA researchers have achieved milestones in cell ag, such as establishing the first publicly available fish muscle cell line and using AI to reduce the cost of cultivated meat. The center collaborates with various USDA-funded research institutions and universities, including Virginia Tech, MIT, and TUCCA. Last year, TUCCA launched the world's first undergraduate degree in cellular agriculture, showing a growing focus on this area of research and education.