Dr Rachel Bennie

Rachel Bennie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury (Biomolecular Interaction Centre). She obtained her PhD from the University of Canterbury in 2022 where she investigated the link between exposure to various xenoestrogens found in food and the environment and the impact on breast cancer risk using in vitro and computational methods.

Following her doctoral studies, she joined Prof Renwick Dobson’s research group as the Postdoc on the MBIE Catalyst Future Foods Research Programme in collaboration with University of Auckland. Rachel’s research interests and expertise include cultivated meat alternatives and cell line development for food production. She is particularly interested in mammalian cell-plant protein interactions to improve organoleptic and nutritional properties of cultivated meats and how we can inform regulatory bodies and government on policies and legislations for cultivated meats in New Zealand.