Stijn F. L. Mertens
Papers
2
Total Citations
243
H-Index
2
About
Stijn F. L. Mertens is a leading researcher in industrial yeast biotechnology, with a focus on metabolic engineering, evolutionary adaptation, and synthetic biology to enhance fermentation performance. His major contributions lie in developing novel Saccharomyces hybrids and strains with superior traits for both brewing and bioethanol production. Notably, his 2015 paper on interspecific Saccharomyces hybrids (138 citations) demonstrated how creating new hybrids between S. cerevisiae and cold-tolerant species can dramatically expand the aromatic diversity of lager beers, offering brewers a powerful tool to innovate flavor profiles. In parallel, his work on large-scale robot-assisted genome shuffling (105 citations) pioneered a high-throughput method to evolve industrial S. cerevisiae strains with significantly increased ethanol tolerance, directly addressing a key bottleneck in bioethanol fermentation. This approach combines directed evolution with automation, enabling the rapid generation of robust yeasts capable of higher yields. Mertens’ research bridges fundamental genetics and applied industrial microbiology, with his work cited extensively by both academic and brewing science communities. His achievements highlight the potential of combining classical breeding, modern genomics, and robotic screening to solve real-world challenges in fermentation biotechnology.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2