Affiliation: Universidad del Valle

Dr. Anna María Polanía Rivera is an assistant professor in the Food Engineering Program at the Universidad del Valle, Tuluá campus, Colombia. Her research focuses on the valorization of agri-food resources through solid-state fermentation to obtain bioactive compounds. She is a member of the Microbiology and Applied Biotechnology (MIBIA) group. Dr. Rivera earned her food technology degree in 2012, a food engineering degree in 2017, and her PhD in Engineering with a specialization in food science in 2023. all from Universidad del Valle. 

She completed a postdoctoral fellowship, during which she formulated a starter inoculum using coffee by-products, employing yeasts and lactic acid bacteria to enhance the organoleptic quality of fermented coffee. Dr. Rivera has participated in several significant international events and has authored 15 high-impact scientific publications, including peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.