Santos Fustero was born in Aínsa, Spain, in 1949. He studied Chemistry at the University of Zaragoza, where he obtained his Licenciatura (equivalent to a B.Sc. degree) in Chemistry in 1972. He received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1975 from the same University, working in the field of heterocyclic chemistry under the supervision of Prof J. Barluenga and Prof V. Gotor.

He spent two years as a post-doctoral research associate at Prof H. Lehmkuhl’s laboratory at Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany, researching organometallic chemistry.

In 1983, he became Associate Professor at University of Oviedo, Spain, and in 1990, he was promoted to Full Professor in Organic Chemistry at University of Valencia.

In 2005, he also became research group leader at Centro de Investigación “Príncipe Felipe” (CIPF) in Valencia. His research interests include organofluorine and medicinal chemistry, fluorous synthesis, organocatalysis and new reaction methodologies.