Blenner explained that using microbial systems to produce oils is vastly different from food-based oils, with one advantage being the increased sustainability that accompanies microbial-based production methods. However, this method is more expensive than conventional agriculture-based oils. 

“The manufacturing costs are so high because of the cost of the yeast feedstock, like glucose and fructose, which is one of the reasons we don't have many processes to make these oils from microbial systems,” Blenner said.

Gensure is aiming to find ways to reduce these costs by using agricultural waste from the UD Newark Farm to fuel the yeast cells in creating these oils. 

“This research could be expanded and applied to pretty much any food waste or agricultural waste, which is obviously also a big issue,” Gensure said. “Thirty percent of our food goes to waste. So, it’s a good way to get value from that waste, instead of it just going into landfills and creating all kinds of carbon emissions.”

In addition to the sustainability aspect, Gensure is also investigating how he can control or change what kinds of oils the cells can create, by engineering the cells. 

“The ability to control the composition of the oil is much more difficult with conventional agricultural systems, so that’s another long term aspect Aidan is working on,” Blenner said. “We really want to find how we can use lower value inputs that can be converted into things we want, as well as how we can engineer them to perform better in the process.” 

Although food science and engineering may seem like an odd combination to the outside observer, these disciplines are actually ideal for many who are entering the food science research sector. 

“There is a lot of engineering in food science and a lot of food science in engineering,” Blenner said. 

Gensure feels the same, citing that having a food science background has influenced his perspective on engineering as a whole. 

“Through my food science education, I’ve learned how all of these different systems work together and how they all affect each other,” Gensure said. “You really do have to work from farm to table, to improve sustainability and to make sure that we can build a better planet.”