Director’s Message

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Visitors to the HSPRC website,

Welcome to the Esther and Herbert Hecht Sustainable Protein Research Center (HSPRC). I am Prof. Yoav D. Livney, Director of HSPRC and a passionate researcher specializing in the future of food and its impact on health and sustainability.

The challenge of feeding our planet’s growing population is approaching a crucial tipping point: natural resources are limited, and the current agrifood production and consumption practices are inconsiderate of the environment and of future generations. One of the major problems is that the continued production and consumption of animal-based food, such as beef, is simply unsustainable in the long term.

Replacing highly popular traditional foods with more sustainable alternatives requires the development of new products with appealing sensory properties and competitive prices. These great challenges call for immediate action, and for all relevant stakeholders to join forces.

From an academic perspective, it is imperative to boost multidisciplinary research and development efforts that bring together researchers from various fields. It also requires sufficient funding to incentivize researchers, and to coordinate all concerted efforts to achieve faster and more effective progress.

We have established HSPRC precisely for these purposes. The Center promotes and coordinates the collaborative research activities of dozens of topnotch Technion researchers representing a large range of different faculties and fields of research. Together, we will push forward these efforts in an intensive and synergetic manner.

As the first academic alternative/sustainable protein research center in the world, HSPRC is also committed to leading global cooperation among research centers in this field, and promoting international collaboration efforts among researchers worldwide.

The Good Food Institute has been highly supportive of the Center’s establishment and continues to be closely involved with HSPRC’s efforts to advance the field of sustainable protein research both locally and globally.

We are grateful to the Hecht family and our other donors for their generous donations, which have enabled us to realize our vision and establish the Center.

I wish to thank Prof. Avi Shpigelman and Mr. David Shem-Tov for their support in initiating and leading this endeavor. In addition, I would like to thank the members of the HSPRC Council and the deans of their faculties who nominated them to represent their faculties in the Center, for their important and helpful cooperation.

Please join us in the exciting and vital race to create a sustainable and healthy world for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and all future generations.

With warm wishes,

Prof. Yoav D. Livney
Director of HSPRC