Born in Vinaròs (1961). Professor of Genetics at the School of Biological Sciences. He got a degree in Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Valencia, with an extraordinary doctorate award.
His scientific career began as a predoctoral fellow of the Generalitat Valenciana at the University of Valencia. He did a two-year postdoctoral stay in the laboratory of Prof. Francisco J. Ayala from the University of California at Irvine (USA), and short stays as a visiting professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark, and at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He was a researcher for 14 years at the “Cavanilles” Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, of the University of Valencia, and in the last eight years, he has been a researcher in the Systems Biology of yeasts of biotechnological interest Group at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), CSIC, through an agreement between  CSIC and the University of Valencia.
During his research career, he has worked in different lines of research such as the molecular evolution of Drosophila, the evolution of RNA viruses, and the role of chaperonins in bacterial endosymbiosis. In recent years, his research work has focused on the study, through comparative genomics and the analysis of 'omic' data, of the molecular mechanisms involved in the generation of genetic innovations that explain the adaptation of yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces in fermentative environments, responsible for their properties of biotechnological interest.
He has participated in 26 competitive research projects, of which 9 as principal investigator. He is the author of more than one hundred articles in international journals indexed in the Science Citation Index. He has mentored 12 doctoral theses, supervised 3 postdoctoral researchers, and has been recognized for five six-year years periods of research.
His teaching activity currently focuses on subjects in the degrees in Biology and Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, in addition to the master's degree in R&D in Biotechnology and Biomedicine. He participated in the creation of the Master's Degree in Bioinformatics, being a member of its academic coordination committee for more than five years. He has six recognized five-year teaching periods. He was a member of the Senate of the University of Valencia and the faculty board of the School of Biological Sciences, during different periods.[Biography, English version]

I have a degree in Chemistry specialising in Biochemistry from the Universitat de València (UV, 1994). I spent 5 months in the Goerlaeus laboratories of the University of Leiden (Netherlands). After graduating, I joined the Department of Genetics of the UV, where I did my doctoral thesis with an FPI Scholarship from the Generalitat Valenciana, obtaining my doctorate in 1999. During that period, I made a short stay (1996) at the Institute of Biotechnology of Cuernavaca (Mexico). I have done postdoctoral stays in different centers of recognized prestige, IATA (CSIC) (1999). Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (UV) (1999-2002) and EMBL (Grenoble, France, 2002-2004), with a Specialization Scholarship in International Organizations. Later I joined the Department of Genetics of the UV, with a postdoctoral fellowship Carmen and Severo Ochoa (2007-2009) and from 2009 to 2012 with a contract as a Senior Research Technician. In 2012 I competed and obtained a position as Associate Professor Dr and in 2017 as University Professor.

TEACHING ACTIVITY: Since 1996 I have taught in 21 different subjects, covering undergraduate or undergraduate students from second to master's degree. I have taught these classes in 2 degrees (Biology and Chemistry) and in 6 different degrees: Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences (· BCB, 5), Biotechnology (BT, 5), Biology (Biol, 1), Double Degree Law-Criminology and Degree in Criminology (DC or C, 4) and in two master's degrees: Master in Molecular, Cellular and Genetic Biology (1) and Master in Bioinformatics (2).  I am currently coordinator of external internships of students in companies for the Degree in Biotechnology and I have the Quality Mention as a tutor of these practices. Since March 2018 I am Vice-Dean of Innovation and Quality of the Faculty of Biology. I have directed 13 final degree projects in the degrees of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Biotechnology and Criminology, 6 Master's Final Projects, and the Doctoral Thesis of Dr. López-Galiano: Identification of miRNAs with predictive value as biomarkers of biotic and abiotic stress in plants of agronomic interest. 26.03.2021 and I am co-directing another. I have recognized three five-year teaching periods

EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION ACTIVITIES: Since 2018 I have participated in 12 teaching innovation projects with 6 participations in congresses or educational days

RESEARCH CAREER: In my research career I have mainly addressed the field of pathogen-host interactions from a multitude of approaches, both in terms of the range of organisms (bacteria-insects, phages-bacteria, insects-plants, viruses-humans) and the type of approach, from purely molecular and basic research (phage structures, protein-protein interactions or biochemical characterization of the mode of action of toxins) to those of clinical or field application.  I have recognized three six-year periods of research. In 2014, I participated in the Potato Beetle genome annotation project, within the i5k initiative: genome sequencing of 5000 arthropods.

TRANSFER ACTIVITY: I am co-inventor of two patents: P0201030569- Increase in the expression of recombinant sequences in eukaryotes and ES27176855- Peptide and pharmaceutical compositions of the same for use as an antimicrobial and in the treatment of cancer. I have participated in the Innosalud (2020) and Innotransfer (2020,  2021) programs  .

PEER REVIEW AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES Since 2009 I have participated as a reviewer in: Letters in  Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology, Cells, Plant Cell Reports, IJMS, BAOJ Biotechnology ... I participate as an external Evaluator for the National Agency for Evaluation and Foresight (ANEP) since 2015, for the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) since 2019 (21 business projects evaluated) and for the UV-Ministry of Universities, for the evaluation of the University Requalification System program (2021).

DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES. Member of the Organizing Committee of Climathon-Burjassot 2019 (Climate Kick-UV), and Hackaton AgrotecUV (2021). Member of the organizing committee and the scientific congress  (Innocampus-Explora project) Innocovid19 (2020) and Innofuturo (2021 ).

He studied Biology and Philosophy simultaneously at the University of Valencia, obtaining his Ph.D. in Biology in 1983 and Philosophy (Extraordinary Award) in 1988. He did his postdoctoral stay in 1985-1986 with a Fulbright grant at the University of California at Davis (USA). He had been visiting professor at the University of California at Irvine (USA) in 1988 and 1994, and in 2019 professor on a sabbatical stay with a Fulbright grant at Harvard University. In 1986 he created the Evolutionary Genetics group in the Dept. of Genetics at the University of Valencia, where he has been a professor since 1993. He was the director of this Dept. from 1995 to 1998. He has been the promoter of the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Valencia and its director from its creation in 1998 until 2010. He has also been a promoter of the Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC) and the Centro Superior de Investigación en Salud Pública de la Conselleria de Sanidad del Gobierno Valenciano (CSISP), of which he was its director in 2012. The CSISP was integrated into the Valencian Foundation for Promoting Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community, FISABIO. He was the FISABIO-Public Health division's scientific director from 2013 until July 2014. Since August 2014, he has directed, within FISABIO, the FISABIO Chair for the Promotion of Biomedical Research, an Institutional Chair of the University of Valencia.

He is the author of about 600 publications, including scientific articles, reviews, book chapters, and books on Genetics, Evolution, and Philosophy (20,700 citations, h-index of 74). He has participated in several patents and created a spin-off company. Experimental evolution of viruses and genomics and metagenomics of bacteria and microbial communities represent the research areas where he has made the most significant scientific contributions. He introduced Genomics in Spain, and his group sequenced the first genome of a bacterium, entirely carried out in Spain. He has done extensive work in disseminating and reflecting on science and has published several books on evolutionary theory and the scope of evolutionary thought. He currently focuses his research on symbiosis, mainly studying the human microbiome and other organisms from an evolutionary, systems biology, and synthetic biology perspective. He has supervised 35 doctoral theses, and many national and foreign scientists have been trained in his research group. He has received competitive funding from regional, national, European, and international agencies and has been the principal investigator of national, European, and international projects.

He has given lectures and courses in European countries, Latin America, the United States, and Asia. He has formed or is a member of commissions of research evaluation agencies in Spain and its autonomous communities, different European and Latin American countries, and the European Union.

He is a member of several scientific societies, founder of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology, the Spanish Society of Virology, and the Spanish Society of Evolutionary Biology, of which he has been its president. He is editor-in-chief, associate editor, or editorial board member of several scientific and philosophical journals.

He has received the following distinctions: the City of Barcelona Award for Scientific Research (1996), "Fellow" of the "American Association for the Advance of Science" (1998), the Diario Médico Award (2006), Diploma of the President of the Valencian Government for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2010), National Genetics Award (2012), Lilly Award in Preclinical Biomedical Research (2013), Mexico Award for Science and Technology (2015), Dr. Honoris Causa by the Menéndez Pelayo International University (2016), Advisor to the Gadea Foundation (2017), Maestro Andrés Laguna Award (2019), Alberto Sols Award for Research in Health Sciences (2022).