Emma van der Leest (1991) is an award-winning biodesigner, researcher, educator, and author based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. With over 10 years of experience in biodesign, she collaborates across disciplines with scientists, artists, and designers to create sustainable, bio-based materials. Her work focuses on biofabrication, integrating living organisms like bacteria and fungi into design processes to develop compostable materials that reduce environmental harm.
A product design graduate (cum laude) from the Willem de Kooning Academy, Emma blends design, scientific research, and new production techniques to foster interdisciplinary innovation. She has interned at Biocouture London and is a product associate for the Biofabricate conference in New York. Emma also teaches and leads the Ecology Futures Master program at St. Joost Academy and has lectured at institutions including Central Saint Martins and Design Academy Eindhoven.
Emma also curates exhibitions, including projects for the Dutch Innovation Pavilion and Boijmans van Beuningen Depot. She is the founder and ambassador of BlueCity Lab in Rotterdam, a biocircular playground for bioneers in Rotterdam. They support the transition towards a biocircular economy by facilitating a platform & labspace for a growing community of bioneers that establish examples for a regenerative economy within the planetary boundaries by doing and experimenting.
WDCD Live Delhi 2025
Emma van der Leest will speak on the main stage at WDCD Live Delhi 2025. Join Emma and hundreds of creatives on 8 March, tickets are now available.