Last week, our Talent4BBI group of PhD students had the privilege of attending an engaging training session hosted by ADM in Valencia, Spain. The experience was both eye-opening and inspiring, offering them valuable insights into the cutting-edge work being done at ADM and its crucial role in the bioeconomy.
As part of the training, our PhD students had the unique opportunity to tour ADM’s production facilities outside Valencia. This production facility, representing an investment of over $30 million, is one of ADM’s locations where probiotics and postbiotics are produced. The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in the health and well-being of humans, animals, and pets, and ADM, which is headquartered in Chicago, US, plays a central role globally in the innovation, development, and production of health-promoting supplements. ADM’s commitment to innovation and sustainability was evident throughout the duration of the training, as emphasized by Iryna Biliaieva, the Strategic Business Development Director at ADM. As part of their training in Valencia, the Talent4BBI group attended several presentations and talks from the ADM team. Alicia Ibañez, a Project Manager at ADM, introduced our team to the entire process required to bring a product to market and provided insights into the relationship between the research and business sectors. Melina Rodrigues, who is a lawyer, discussed the legal frameworks involved in R&D projects as well as the complexities associated with technology transfer.
Additionally, several scientists from ADM’s R&D team shared exciting highlights from their ongoing research and discussed the scale-up challenges in their bioprocesses. Specifically, Lucía Jareño, who is CD&D H&W Application Science Manager at ADM, presented some of the company’s success stories while highlighting the challenges related to applications. Nerea Talareva, Andrea Aspas, and Alla Punko, all scientists within ADM’s R&D team in Valencia, delved into the specifics of the fermentation and downstream processes at ADM. Meanwhile, Eric Climent, Jennifer Redondo, and Marta Barrena presented some of the research highlights happening within ADM. Last but not least, Diego Rodriguez led a tour at ADM’s R&D facilities in Valencia, where our ESRs had the opportunity to see state-of-the-art equipment used in biotics-related research.
This entire experience reinforced the idea that food and health are at the heart of the bioeconomy, with ADM leading the way in shaping the future of this field. ADM’s passion for improving public health through sustainable solutions closely aligns with the goals of the Talent4BBI program.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to ADM and their team for their warm hospitality, invaluable training, and unwavering commitment to fostering innovation. It was a truly enriching experience, and we look forward to seeing the continued positive impact of their work.
Written by the Talent4BBI Communications Team
