Karen McDonald Receives ACS BIOT Biotechnology and Bioengineering Gaden Award
Distinguished Professor Emerita of Chemical Engineering Karen McDonald of the University of California, Davis, was selected for the Biotechnology and Bioengineering Gaden Award from the Division of Biochemical Technology of the American Chemical Society, or ACS.
The award is named after Elmer L. Gaden, Jr., who founded the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering. McDonald was honored for her outstanding work in the field throughout her career.
The award, presented on behalf of Biotechnology and Bioengineering and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., recognized McDonald’s particularly creative and innovative paper titled “Techno-economic Modeling and Assessment of Cultivated Meat: Impact of Production Bioreactor Scale.” The study, published in 2023, outlines how advances in scaled-up bioreactors, alternative bioreactor designs and decreased media costs are necessary for the commercialization of cultured meat products.
“The Gaden Award is great to receive on behalf of our research team, particularly as it is in honor of Elmer L. Gaden, Jr., who is often referred to as the father of biochemical engineering,” McDonald said. “Also, because it recognizes our team’s work in techno-economic modeling and analyses.”
McDonald received the award in March at the ACS Spring 2026 Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. During the meeting, McDonald presented an overview of the research described in the paper and related research from several other papers. She also discussed undergraduate and graduate training programs in techno-economic modeling at UC Davis.
Biochemical Technology is a division of ACS that brings together academics, industrial practitioners and students who share a common passion for biotechnology and its role in improving people’s lives.
