Laura Katz

Laura Katz, food scientist, is Founder and CEO of Helaina, a New York City-based biotech company on a mission to transform nutrition with human equivalent bioactive proteins for all stages of life. 

Through its precision fermentation platform, Helaina replicates and scales human colostrum proteins for functional foods, beverages and supplements. The company is currently selling its flagship ingredient effera™ Human Lactoferrin, which supports women’s health, active nutrition and healthy aging, to consumer brands and through strategic distribution partners. Helaina is also working toward a future launch of infant formula in partnership with formula manufacturers. 

Laura became NYU’s youngest ever adjunct professor in Food Science & Technology in 2017 and was featured in Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2022. She has presented at Collision, Food Hack, Fortune Most Powerful Women NextGen, Future Food Tech-Alt Proteins, Harvard Business School, The Good Food Institute Conference and Web Summit.

Prior to Helaina, Laura developed food products for NUGGS, Plated, and Dylan’s Candy Bar. Laura has reached viral success as a food scientist, generating $60M+ views via an 11-episode stint as the expert food scientist for Epicurious’ 4-Levels video series. She earned a Master’s in Food Studies from NYU, and a Bachelor of Sciences in Food Science and Technology from Western University. In her free time, she can be found hanging out with her husband, son Leo, and their Italian Water Dog, Fontina Prosciutto, and writing recipes in hopes of one day publishing a cookbook.