Interview with the Next Generation Students!
Can you please introduce yourself?
My name is Iliana Marmaridou, I am a student from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece, completing my internship at Matís for the summer semester of 2021-2022.
Can you explain us what you did during your internship?
The first weeks of my internship period I was trained on measuring a variety of bioactivity assays of alternative protein materials.
On the second half of the period, I prepared my samples (single-cell and insect proteins), by carrying out two mechanical disruption methods as pre-treatment. The next step was the hydrolysis of the above samples with several enzymes, before starting the measurement of their functional properties, in order to evaluate whether these processing methods are of commercial value, and suitable for industrial downstream
Were you aware of the need for alternative proteins before working on the NextGenProteins project?
I was aware of the need of new proteins for industrial use, due to the growing demand of food products that are already straining the food industry. For a more sustainable production, the new aim is the exploration of alternative proteins for their later incorporation in the food industry.
Would you be willing to eat food products with microalgae, insect or single cell proteins in the future?
Before joining the project, I was unsure whether I would make myself try foods with microalgae, insects or single cell proteins. After working and getting accustomed with these proteins I feel more confident in eating such food products and I am very curious on which products they will be incorporated in!
Picture from left to right: Lehna Bouchama, Guðrún Margrét Jónsdóttir, Iliana Marmaridou