Rate My Professor Marinda Viljoen-Bloom

Marinda Viljoen-Bloom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. She obtained her BSc in Microbiology and Chemistry cum laude in 1989, HonsBSc in Microbiology cum laude in 1990, MSc in Microbiology cum laude in 1992, and PhD in Microbiology in 1998, all from Stellenbosch University. Her academic career at the university includes her appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology.

Professor Viljoen-Bloom’s research focuses on yeast microbiology and microbial biotechnology, particularly the biological processing of plant material to add value to agricultural products. Her work involves the evaluation of microbial enzymes for the hydrolysis of local feedstocks in bioethanol production and the development of genetically modified amylolytic yeast strains, such as recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for the consolidated bioprocessing of starch into bioethanol. She leads the Bloom Laboratory and has contributed to projects on recombinant expression of alpha- and gluco-amylases. She is also involved in initiatives related to microbial hydrolysis of bioplastics and plant-based biofuels. Her research has resulted in numerous publications, with her work cited over 3,600 times according to Google Scholar. She serves as co-founder of Urobo Biotech and holds the position of Senior Chair of Energy Research in Biofuels.