Dr. Tariq Akhtar, a professor in molecular and cellular biology in the College of Biological Science, is featured in a Globe and Mail article about a Canadian-Israeli start-up company aiming to grow plant nutrients using cell-growth technology. The company has launched a platform to grow nutrients without actually growing plants.

Akhtar says more research is needed to understand the efficacy and safety of food products made using the technology and recommends that consumers proceed with caution. Taken out of their natural habitat, he said, plant cells may react in unexpected ways.

He studies compounds made by plants and the molecular and biochemical basis of their synthesis.