His activities as a researcher in the physical chemistry of polysaccharides within the process and product engineering team of the UMR Qualisud, led him to collaborate on the RTBfoods project. Alongside Christian Mestres, coordinator of WP2, Santiago is studying the structure and functional properties of polysaccharides in order to better characterise food products, including those based on roots and tubers studied in RTBfoods (mainly cassava and yams). His research focuses on understanding the modifications (physical or chemical) undergone by polysaccharides during the processing and the links between these modifications and changes in the structure, texture and sensory or nutritional qualities of the finished product.

Santiago will also participate in the development and validation of textural/rheological measurement methods for different root and tuber products. He will contribute to the revision of the standardised experimental protocols for texture measurements (SOP) developed by the new texture focal point of the project, Oluwatoyin Ayetigbo.