HIBT Lab! Wildtype: Aryé Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck
Aryé Elfenbein, a biologist and former cardiologist, and Justin Kolbeck, a former diplomat, co-founded Wildtype to cultivate real salmon from stem cells without killing fish. They discuss their pivot from an initial focus on foie gras to seafood to maximize environmental impact, detailing the technical challenges of growing cells in rented labs and the disappointment of their first tasteless prototype. The founders explain how they overcame sterility issues in custom-built bioreactors and navigated the regulatory path toward FDA approval for commercial sales.