Maria Teresa Pereira Gonçalves dos Santos has a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with a specialization in chemical and biological analysis, from the University of Lisbon, a master's degree in Food Science and Technology from the Technical University of Lisbon and a PhD in Food Science from the University of Extremadura, Spain. Completed his master's degree with the thesis "Microbial associations in table olives: Interactions between bacteriocin-producing Lactobacillus plantarum B13b and Pichia membranaefaciens A07L1 with Killer activity" and his doctorate with the thesis “Characterization of the microbiota of Serpa cheese and selection of native strains with probiotic suitability ". She has been teaching at the Instituto Politécnico de Beja (IPBeja) since 1990, and is currently an Adjunct Professor integrated in the Department of Technology and Applied Sciences. Her research and teaching interests include general microbiology, parasitology, food and environmental microbiology, food and environmental biotechnology, safety and food hygiene, with a focus on microbiology and food biotechnology. He teaches different curricular units in these areas of training in different types of training provided by IPBeja, including higher professional technical courses, degrees and masters, in different schools that are part of the institute. In his Department is responsible for the microbiological analysis laboratory where he carries out work to support the community in controlling the quality and microbiological safety of water and food, and where he develops research projects related to traditional and regional products, including dairy products, as well as environmental protection. In this context, she has been involved as a researcher in different research projects in the dairy sector, having recently been coordinator of the “Serpaflora-Valorization of the Autochthonous Flora of Serpa cheese” project (PDR2020-101-031017 / Partnership nº78 / Initiativenº152). She is the author and co-author of different articles, oral presentations and posters in her areas of research interest, particularly related to research in the area of microbiological characterization of traditional cheeses and its impact on technology and innovation, namely the characterization and use of probiotic strains in valorization of products.