Uma Valeti, MD, is the CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods, a company at the forefront of the cultivated meat industry. With a background in cardiology and a passion for sustainable and ethical food solutions, Valeti has led UPSIDE Foods to achieve the first FDA and USDA approvals for cultivated chicken in the U.S., attracting high-profile investors like Richard Branson and Bill Gates.
Who is the CEO of UPSIDE Foods?
Dr. Uma Valeti, a former cardiologist, is the visionary behind UPSIDE Foods, a pioneering company in the cultivated meat industry. Valeti also completed three fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, focusing on Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging.
Before founding UPSIDE Foods in 2016, he taught Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University and was named a "Global Thinker of the Decade" by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019. Driven by a desire to create a positive environmental impact, promote kindness to life, and make meat healthier, Valeti has led UPSIDE Foods to achieve significant regulatory milestones, including FDA and USDA approval for its cultivated chicken, marking a major step forward for the cultivated meat industry.
Work History
- UPSIDE Foods - CEO/Founder (June 2016 - Present)
- Stanford University School of Medicine - Adjunct Professor (January 2019 - Present)
- American Heart Association | American Stroke Association - President, Twin Cities Board of Directors (January 2014 - August 2016)
- American Heart Association | American Stroke Association - President-Elect, Twin Cities (July 2013 - June 2014)
- University of Minnesota - Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology (December 2010 - January 2016)
- University of Minnesota - Director, Cardiovascular Imaging (December 2010 - January 2016)
- New Harvest - Member Board of Directors (January 2015 - December 2015)
- Society of Cardiovascular CT - Board of Directors (July 2012 - July 2014)
- American College of Cardiology - Board of Governors, Steering Committee (March 2011 - March 2013)
- American College of Cardiology - President (March 2010 - March 2013)
- American College of Cardiology - Board of Governors (March 2010 - March 2013)
- St. Paul Heart Clinic - Interventional Cardiologist (January 2005 - November 2010)
- St. Paul Heart Clinic - Director, Cardiovascular MRI/CT (January 2005 - November 2010)
- Mayo Clinic - Cardiology Fellow (January 2001 - January 2005)
Education History
Uma Valeti, MD, began his educational journey at Nirmala High School before earning his MBBS degree in Medicine from the prestigious Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in India. He then pursued further medical training in the United States, completing Internal Medicine residencies at both Wayne State University School of Medicine and the University at Buffalo. Valeti's passion for cardiology led him to the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, where he specialized in Cardiology, Cardiovascular MRI/CT, and Interventional Cardiology from 2001 to 2005.
When did Uma Valeti, MD join UPSIDE Foods?
Dr. Uma Valeti founded UPSIDE Foods in June 2016 and has been serving as the CEO since the company's inception. As of the time of an interview published in July 2023, Valeti had been leading UPSIDE Foods for approximately seven years, driving the company's mission to create sustainable and ethical meat alternatives.