Fitxa persona

Francisco Javier Ruiz Sánchez is a biologist and researcher specialising in the evolution of natural systems through geological time by integrating Palaeontology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Geology at the University of Valencia (Spain).

His career combines scientific research with public management of natural heritage and knowledge transfer. Before joining academia, he held several technical positions within the Regional Government of Valencia, working in biodiversity conservation, protected natural areas, palaeontological heritage management and marine fisheries. He also contributed to the preparation of the 2026–2029 Regional R&D&I Strategy for Safety and Emergency Management.

His research uses fossil micromammals, particularly Paleogene and Neogene rodents, as biological archives of Earth's environmental history to reconstruct the evolution of continental ecosystems and Cenozoic palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes. As head of the GIUV-PVC Research Group, he leads a research programme developing quantitative methodologies based on fossil communities to model environmental change, with the aim of improving our understanding of global change processes and supporting natural heritage conservation and management.