Mário Artur de Sales Monteiro is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guelph (Guelph, Canada). Previously, after receiving his PhD in 1996 from York University (Toronto, Canada), he was a Research Scientist at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa (1997-2000) and at Wyeth (now part of Pfizer) in the United States (2001-2003). Mário Monteiro was born in Lisbon, but grew up in Aldeias, in the municipality of Gouveia (Serra da Estrela), where he completed elementary school.

His research focuses on the development of new vaccines. Among the most notable discoveries are those that have resulted in vaccines against bacteria that cause gastrointestinal diseases, mainly diarrhea, with three vaccines having already reached clinical trials in humans (2014, 2022 and 2023) in the United States.

His work has been well regarded by experts and the general public, resulting in honorable recognitions such as: (i) a first prize in 1992 (province of Ontario) for research done during his university studies; (ii) voted one of the 50 most influential people globally in the vaccine industry (2014); (iii) professional excellence award by the Federation of Portuguese-Canadian Professionals in 2015; (iv) inaugural innovation award from the University of Guelph in 2016; (v) Merit award from the Municipality of Gouveia in 2017; and (vi) immigrant of the year in 2018.

Although he has followed the path of the sciences, his passion from an early age has been the fine arts, an area to which he is slowly giving more time.

Mário Monteiro has been a member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council since February 2024.