Thararat Chitov is an Assistant Professor at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. She received her PhD from Strathclyde University, UK. Her research work focused on food and environmental microbiology, especially the ecology of bacteria important in these systems, their interactions, functions, and genetic characteristics related to their functions. In environmental microbiology, she has a particular interest in microbes involved in hydrocarbon degradation and pollutant reduction. In food microbiology, she has extensively researched beneficial bacteria in indigenous food, foodborne bacterial pathogens, food control, and food protection.