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Member of the University Senate

Poly (butylene succinate) fibrous dressings containing natural antimicrobial agents

Chemically cross‐linked poly (vinyl alcohol) electrospun fibrous mats as wound dressing materials

Novel Microcarriers for the Scalable Production on Cultivated Meat

Dr Theodosiou is an experienced biochemical engineer who has been leading industrial and academic research teams for more than 15 years. 

Her main expertise is in the development of technologies for the isolation of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), as well as the design of new and improved support materials for efficient growth and differentiation of stem cells for tissue engineering and cultivated meat applications. 

She has a long track record in authoring research outputs and disseminating findings related to biopharmaceutical process development and holds 1 patent. 

She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Biochemical Engineering

Biopharmaceutical Process Development

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)

Bioprocessing Tools

Stem Cell Biology

University Profile

Google Scholar Citations

ResearchGate Citations

Cultivated meat: The food of the future?

lab-grown-meat-could-be-on-sale-in-uk-within-two-years-but-what-is-labgrown-meat

Senior Lecturer, Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Meat, dairy and sugar grown in a lab could be on sale in the UK for human consumption for the first time within two years, sooner than expected.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking at how it can speed up the approval process for lab-grown foods.

Such products are grown from cells in small chemical plants.

UK firms have led the way in the field scientifically but feel they have been held back by the current regulations.

Aston University has been working on cultivated meat  - find out more about what lab-made meat is  made of and how it is created in the podcast Breaking Down Barriers on Spotify   https://open.spotify.com/episode/7bFy1gr2LJCwiRLPAT9Hml For further details contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7825 342091 or email: n.jones6@aston.ac.uk





Lab grown meat could be on sale in UK within two years - but what is lab-grown meat?

aston-university-predicted-as-one-of-the-uks-leading-centres-for-labmade-meat

• Aston University named as one of the UK’s leaders in the potential future of food  • Highlighted for research, teaching, public outreach, industry links and location • Process uses cells taken from animals via biopsy, so doesn’t involve slaughter.  Aston University has been named as one of the UK’s leading lights in what is predicted to be the future of food - lab-made meat.

The University is one of 17 higher education institutions that are expected to play a major role in the development of cultivated meat.

 Cultivated or lab-grown meat is made from cells taken from animals via biopsy. The cells are used to create meat which doesn’t involve the slaughter of animals. The process promises fewer greenhouse gases and a decrease in land required for its production compared to traditional livestock.

The list of universities has been compiled by Cellular Agriculture UK, a non-profit organisation which promotes the UK’s so-called ‘cell-ag’ sector. Aston University is one of five institutions they chose to highlight in their report Mapping the potential for UK universities to become research and teaching hubs for cellular agriculture.

Aston University is described in the report as having potential to be an anchor institution for cellular agriculture, and was highlighted for its research and teaching, public outreach work, links with emerging industry and its central location.

 Dr Eirini Theodosiou, senior lecturer in the School of lnfrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, focuses on ways to produce enough cell mass to create the meat. She said: “This is still a relatively new food technology. Unlike many others we work on biomaterials for microcarriers/scaffolds for cultivated meat, which puts us in a very strong position, in the UK at least.”

Meanwhile Dr Jason Thomas’ work explores the psychology behind supporting people to accept lab-made food. Although many people are willing to try it, there are still many who are reluctant to do so. A recent study of the US and UK found that 35% of meat eaters and 55% of vegetarians claimed they were too disgusted by the idea of cultured meat to even try it. A key goal of his research is how to support people to not just try it but to integrate it into their diet.

Dr Thomas said: “We are interested in finding out what factors can influence consumer purchase of and consumption of lab-made meat.”

“The engineering/psychology link is one of our USPs and is something Aston University can capitalise on; learning what the consumer wants from cultivated meat, and what would encourage them to consume it, using psychological science, and then incorporating this directly into the production process via engineering. 

“It is a relatively new food technology, and much work still needs to be done to make it affordable, acceptable and on a massive scale, but it could easily end up being one of the most transformative new foods of the 21st century.”




Aston University predicted as one of the UK’s leading centres for lab-made meat

society-matters-live-lab-made-meat-on-the-menu

• Research at Aston University focuses on both creating lab-based meat and its psychological acceptance • Dr Eirini Theodosiou and Dr Jason Thomas will be speaking at April’s Society matters LIVE event • Lab made meat on the menu? will take place at Cafe Artum in Hockley Social Club on Thursday 27 April.  Lab made meat will be the topic of the latest Society matters LIVE event from Aston University at Café Artum at Birmingham’s Hockley Social Club on Thursday 27 April. 


Dr Eirini Theodosiou and Dr Jason Thomas at Aston University are conducting research into lab-made or cultivated meat, both exploring the creation of the meat and the psychological impact of the product.


Dr Eirini Theodosiou, senior lecturer in the School of lnfrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, focuses on ways to produce enough cell mass to create the meat. Meanwhile Dr Jason Thomas’ work explores the psychology behind supporting people to accept lab-made food.


The research comes as current trends indicate that demand for animal-based foods will increase by 70% in 2050 to feed the predicted 9.8 billion people.


Dr Theodosiou said: “Cultivated or lab grown meat offers a safer, more sustainable and animal cruelty-free alternative for consumers. It is a very young industry trying to replace traditional meat production methods however, with 800 million people worldwide suffering from hunger and malnutrition, it is a viable option.”


“In addition, the livestock industry is responsible for 12-18% of the total greenhouse gas emissions and is a cause of deforestation. Increased meat production and factory farming are the topmost likely causes of the next pandemic due to the extensive use of antibiotics and increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases.”


Dr Thomas said: “It is a relatively new food technology, and much work still needs to be done to make it affordable and on a massive scale. We are interested in finding out what factors can influence consumer purchase of and consumption of lab-made meat.”


The event is organised by Aston University and Café Artum at Hockley Social Club as part of the Society matters LIVE series.


Free tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lab-made-meat-on-the-menu-tickets-464161147487?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 

Society matters LIVE: Lab made meat on the menu?



In the final section Rabia Ahmed and Dr Eirini Theodosiou look at how the pharmacy and engineering industries are involved in developing new antibiotics and using our existing antibiotics effectively to help combat the growing worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance.

Funding for this AMR4AMR (Aston Multidisciplinary Research for Antimicrobial Resistance) research group event was via ‘Bridging the Gap’ funding (grant reference number EP/M02735X/1) from the EPSRC (Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council) and Biomaster. 

Find out more about the project: www.aston.ac.uk/amr4amr

AMR Schools Roadshow Section 4: Molecules to man

Cultivated or clean meat offers an alternative for consumers that doesn’t require animal slaughter, and will lead to fewer greenhouse gases, and decrease the amount of water and land required for its production.

It is a relatively new food technology and much work still needs to be done to make it affordable and on a massive scale. Research is being conducted at Aston University into the ‘scaffolds’ needed to produce cultivated meat.

But one of the biggest barriers cultured meat will also have to overcome is consumer attitudes. 

A recent study in the US and UK (https://bit.ly/3f2XuJD) found that 35% of meat eaters and 55% of vegetarians reported being too disgusted by the idea of cultured meat to even try it.

Aston Orignals explores what is cultivated - or lab-produced - meat and what the barriers are to consumers choosing to buy it and eat it with Professor Claire Farrown and Dr Eirini Theodosiou, from Aston University.



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