Rinke van Tatenhove-Pel

Rinke van Tatenhove-Pel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), where she leads research in Industrial Microbiology. She is based in room B58.B1.140 and can be contacted at R.J.vanTatenhove-Pel@tudelft.nl. Her work bridges predictive modeling and experimental biology to advance biotechnological applications.

Her research focuses on understanding interactions between microbial cells, strains, and species through synthetic consortia and high-throughput screening platforms. She employs microdroplet-based cultivation systems and integrates modeling approaches such as reaction-diffusion and probabilistic models to predict microbial fitness and optimize selection processes. Her goal is to improve industrial bioprocesses including biofuel production and sustainable fermentation technologies.

Rinke is actively involved in teaching within the Bachelor's program Life Science and Technology, contributing to courses such as Microbial Physiology and Metabolic Engineering. These courses emphasize quantitative and model-driven analysis of biological systems, preparing students for research and innovation in biotechnology.

She supervises a dynamic research group comprising four PhD candidates and one postdoctoral researcher, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration within TU Delft and beyond. Her team explores topics ranging from yeast metabolic engineering to the evolution of microbial consortia for industrial applications.

• PhD Students:
  • Sagarika Bangalore Govindaraju – Developing high-throughput screening platforms using microdroplets.
  • Tobias Fecker – Engineering yeast metabolism and microbial communities for low-emission substrates.
  • Tom de Kanter – Improving Ogataea parapolymorpha via laboratory evolution for enhanced biomass yield.
  • Thomas Visser – Creating novel methodologies to evolve microbial consortia for food, fuel, and sustainability applications.
• Postdoc:
  • Michelle Rossouw – Selecting hemicellulose-utilizing strains using microdroplet screening for bioethanol production.

Rinke values collaborative and multidisciplinary research, believing that complex biological challenges require diverse perspectives. Her group works closely with other PIs, students, and technicians within the Industrial Microbiology section, and collaborates with scientists across the Biotechnology Department and external institutions.