Future
Foods for Space Workshop
UC Davis Student Community Center
April
22nd – 23rd, 2025
Plenary
Talk
"The Potential and Challenges of Fermented Food Production in
Space"
Frances Donovan, PhD
Principal Investigator and Project Manager,
Synthetic Biology
NASA Ames Research Center, Space Biosciences
Division
Bio: Dr.
Frances Donovan has over 20 years’ experience leading cross-functional teams in
the development of technology and instrumentation for the ISS and other
spaceflight applications. She serves as the Principal Investigator and Project
Manager of the Synthetic Biology Project at the Space Biosciences Division of
NASA Ames Research Center. She leads a team of biologists, geneticists, and
engineers in developing nutrient delivery systems using genetically engineered
microbes to make fermented foods as well as a small-scale biomanufacturing
platform that utilizes CO2 derived simple carbon feedstocks and genetically
engineered organisms to produce on-demand nutrients and materials for space
missions.
