Located on the Saint Paul campus under the umbrella of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, the Plant Protein Innovation Center (PPIC – pronounced like pea-pick) was founded nearly five years ago based on the premise that academia and industry can work together to accelerate meaningful, significant research with real-world impact.
A Seed is Planted
PPIC Founder and Director Professor B. Pam Ismail never imagined she’d be managing a research center. A food scientist with an interest in protein chemistry, Ismail confessed that she spent a lot of time conducting research in a specific academic silo. Her varied areas of interest emphasize improving the functionality and bioactivity of proteins from different sources and, due to growing interest in plant proteins for reasons including health, animal welfare, and climate change, among others, making plant proteins better suited for human consumption.
During her quest to earn tenure, she asked a colleague, who then served as head of research and development at the global food corporation Cargill, to be an external reviewer. In his letter, he said her research was interesting, but he thought she needed to be working with industry.
At the first opportunity, Ismail took a sabbatical leave and worked at Cargill’s R&D department leading the company’s efforts in initiating a plant protein research focus to accelerate entry into the plant protein market to meet the growing consumer demand for plant-based foods.
“It was a light bulb moment to see how my research could be translated for industry,” said Ismail. “Soon people started telling me I should start a research center. There was a lot of encouragement from the department, CFANS, and industry, and I knew if we didn’t establish a plant protein research center at the University, someone else somewhere else would.”
A year and a half later, Dr. Ismail launched PPIC in November of 2018.
The Uniqueness of PPIC
To launch PPIC, Ismail studied other Centers of Excellence, both at the University and beyond, and identified what other centers did well and how PPIC could do better. PPIC’s model emphasizes a strong connection with industry, offering companies three levels of membership based on annual revenue and numerous benefits that serve the interests of both members and the Center.
In the first year, PPIC grew rapidly, signing on 11 founding members. Now, as the center approaches its five-year anniversary, it works with 37 global members, who help guide the Center’s research, and typically generates $1–1.5 million a year, depending on membership expansion and external grants received.
Source: umn.edu
Photo Credit - agricultural-innovations
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