** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** NOVEL FOODSHAVE EMERGED TO ADDRESS PRESSING GLOBAL ISSUES SUCH ASFOOD SECURITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND NUTRITION. THE MEAT INDUSTRY HAS RECENTLY RECEIVED ATTENTION REGARDING EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY TO MEET FUTURE CONSUMER DEMAND. ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN OPTIONS HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE FOR CONSUMERS TO INTEGRATE INTO THEIR DIET. HOWEVER, MANY AMERICANS ARE UNWILLING TO REPLACE CONVENTIONAL MEAT WITH THESE PLANT PROTEIN SOURCES DUE TO SENSORIAL DISAPPOINTMENT, LACK OF FAMILIARITY, AND MEAT ATTACHMENT. CELL-CULTURED MEAT (CCM) OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL MEAT WITH A HIGH POTENTIAL OF A COMPARABLE MEAT-EATING EXPERIENCE. HOWEVER, THE SUCCESS OF CCM IS RELIANT ON CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE, WHICH IS A FUNCTION OFBOTH THE FOOD AND THE CONSUMER. DESPITE THE APPROVAL FOR CCM COMMERCIALIZATION IN THE USA, CONSUMER RESPONSE TO THESE NOVEL FOODS IS UNCLEAR. THERE IS A CLEAR RESEARCH GAP ON UNDERSTANDING CONSUMERS' REACTIONS REGARDING SELECTING, PURCHASING, AND CONSUMING THESE PRODUCTS. TO BRIDGE THIS GAP, MY CROSS-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH COMBINES VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) EXPERIMENTS AND SENSORY TESTING TO UNDERSTAND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AT EACH STAGE OF ACCEPTANCE:WILLINGNESS TO TRY (WTT), WILLINGNESS TO PURCHASE (WTP), AND WILLINGNESS TO ADOPT (WTA).USING A VALIDATED VR BUFFET SIMULATION, PARTICIPANTS WILL MAKEVIRTUAL FOOD CHOICES OFCCM, PLANT-BASED MEAT, AND CONVENTIONAL MEAT LABELED WITH VARIOUS TERMS. THIS IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE WILL ENABLE INSIGHT OFTHE CONSUMER-DECISION MAKING PROCESS, SHEDDING LIGHT ON HOW DIFFERENT LABEL TERMS INFLUENCE WTT CCM. I WILL ALSO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE VR SIMULATION, AGCELLERATE,TO ALLOW PARTICIPANTS TO VIRTUALLY TAKE PART IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF CCM. BY ASSESING CONSUMER RESPONSE BEFORE AND AFTER PARTICIPATINGINAGCELLERATE,I AIM TO GAUGE THE IMPACT OF ENHANCED KNOWLEDGE ON WTT AND WTP CCM. THROUGH QUALITATIVE COOKABILITY TESTING AND QUANTITATIVE SENSORY TASTE TESING, PARTICIPANTS WILL DIRECTLY EXPERIENCE AND RATE THE SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF CCM, PLANT-BASED MEAT, AND CONVENTIONAL MEAT. FROM ANALYZING PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK, I WILL IDENTIFY KEY CHARACTERISTICS THAT DRIVE WTP AND WTACCM. I AIM TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE INSIGHTS INTO THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF CCM. ULTIMATELY, RESULTS WILL SUPPORT ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE MEAT INDUSTRIESBY PROVIDING APPLICABLE INSIGHTS TO POSITION AND PRODUCE PRODUCTS BASED ON CONSUMER PREFERENCES.