Saskia Urlass

Saskia completed her bachelor’s degree in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the IMC FH Krems, in Austria. During her bachelor’s she received The Marshall Plan Scholarship, which allowed her to complete an internship at The University of Chicago (USA) in the Gastroenterology department. This training was the basis for her bachelor thesis that has contributed to a publication in Cell Host & Microbe, published in April 2018. Afterwards she pursued a master’s program in Food Innovation and Health at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), which involved studying one year at the Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. She completed her master thesis at WUR in the department of Food Quality and Design. During her time at WUR she participated in the Rethink Protein Challenge with the idea to upcycle waste created by breweries, where she reached the semi-finals.

Saskia’s current research focuses on physicochemical and functional properties of protein extracted from Australian native seaweed. Her goal is to develop healthy and nutritious meat and dairy alternatives. Thereby providing the consumer with more sustainable options that do not only benefit their health but also the environment surrounding them.

Saskia's principal advisor is Senior Research Fellow Dr Michael Netzel.