GFI India’s Smart Protein Advanced Research & Knowledge (SPARK) Fellowship program
GFI India’s Smart Protein Advanced Research & Knowledge (SPARK) Fellowship program encourages postgraduate students of diverse scientific disciplines like food technology, biotechnology, bioengineering, microbiology, and chemical engineering to work on industry-relevant applied research topics that can lead to innovative discoveries and breakthroughs in smart protein.
Under the SPARK fellowship, students pursuing their master’s degree from pioneering Indian universities will have the opportunity to conduct fully funded, lab-based research under the mentorship of field experts for a maximum duration of one year. This program will also facilitate translational research collaborations and the commercialisation of outcomes by onboarding relevant industry partners from GFI India’s network.
The SPARK Fellowship was launched in February 2024. The first cohort of three students conducted their laboratory research at CSIR-IHBT and WRCB-IIT Bombay with expert industry guidance from GFI India and HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.
In 2025, the SPARK Fellowship Program evolved its implementation model by introducing flexible objective-based project duration and increasing the number of fellows and research projects.
The second cohort of five SPARK Fellows will be conducting their research projects under the guidance of expert faculty members/scientists at reputed academic and research institutions in India.
Learn more about our 2025 SPARK Fellows, host institutions, academic mentors, and research projects
Plant-based projects
Two six-month research projects on the theme Upcycled Plant Proteins will be conducted at the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K) by Kusuma B.V. and Suraj Solanky, under the expert guidance of Dr. Rajni Chopra and Dr. Rakhi Singh, respectively. Kusuma’s project focuses on the extraction, functional modification, and characterisation of protein derived from linseed cake. Suraj’s project will explore the potential of Rice Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) as a protein source for plant-based food applications.
Fermentation project
Watch this space for updates on our fermentation fellow.
Cultivated meat project
Watch this space for updates on our cultivated meat fellow.
Discover how our 2024 SPARK Fellows have progressed
Plant-based project
Plant-based project
CSIR-IHBT
Amit Verma, an M.Tech student from Banaras Hindu University, is conducting the plant-based research project under the guidance of Dr. Vidyashankar Srivatsan at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT). This project aims at obtaining functional proteins from tea (Camelia sinensis) leaf residue and broken rice. Besides, this study will determine the nutritional quality (amino acid composition, in vitro digestibility and bioavailability) and functionality of proteins derived from these food processing side streams.
Fermentation project
Fermentation project
CSIR-IHBT
Shraddha Jadhav, who was undertaking the fermentation project under the guidance of Dr. Vidyashankar Srivatsan at CSIR-IHBT, concluded her fellowship project in December 2024. Shraddha presented her results to Prof. Vidyashankar and GFI India on the optimisation of solid-state fermentation (SSF) protocols using yeast on spent algal biomass as the feedstock and is in the process of preparing the final project report.
Cultivated meat project
Cultivated meat project
WRCB, IIT-B
Rupali M, the SPARK Fellow who undertook cultivated meat-related research at IIT Bombay under the mentorship of Dr. Abhijit Majumder, completed her six-month fellowship in November 2024. In her final project update, Rupali identified target plant protein analogues that closely mimic the functional properties of fetal bovine serum proteins and prepared the final project report. In February 2025, Rupali commenced a PhD research program in Data Sciences at the International Max Planck Research School, Germany.