Turns out it’s entirely possible to build your own biotech laboratory. That’s exactly what Dr. Katie Bashant Day did in order to conduct the R&D necessary to establish a small biotech company in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Katie used advanced statistical methods alongside cell culture to develop a method for growing cells without the need for foetal bovine serum (FBS) - which is essentially the blood of unborn baby cows. FBS is used to grow cells for a wide variety of purposes - for basic disease research, for the production of new cancer therapies and for the manufacture of new products for the beauty and food industries. The product Katie has developed (FRS) is a cleaner, reproducible alternative to FBS - while also being more sustainable, ethical, and cost-efficient.

Previously, Katie was the Head of Technology at Sydney-based cultured meat company Vow. Vow scaled from 8 to 80 operators during her tenure and she led a team of 35 scientists and engineers responsible for the technical breakthroughs necessary to launch their first product. Katie completed her PhD in Medicine through an accelerated doctoral program which split time equally at the University of Cambridge and the National Institutes of Health (USA).

As an advisor and advocate for scientists interested in entrepreneurship, Katie is passionate about encouraging the growth of the biotech sector in Australia. She lives in the Southern Highlands with her husband and their two small children.