Javier graduated as a veterinarian in 1997 from the University of Córdoba, Spain, and then went on to gain his PhD in Comparative Pathology in 2001, studying the pathogenesis of African swine fever. He moved to the Spanish Government National Institute for Research in Animal Health (CISA-INIA) in Valdeolmos, Madrid, as a veterinary researcher, working on the pathogenesis and diagnostics of transboundary and emerging diseases such as foot and mouth disease, classical and African swine fever, Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). He became the Head of the Experimental Pathology Unit at CISA-INIA from 2005 until 2007, when he moved to the UK to work for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (now APHA) as a veterinary research pathologist. He was appointed Reader in Comparative Pathology at the University of Surrey in October 2013 and moved to Public Health England (now UKHSA) as a Senior Veterinary Pathologist in September 2018. He has been studying the host-pathogen interaction and working on vaccine strategies in tuberculosis, porcine diseases and several zoonoses. Javier has been carrying out numerous consultancy missions on veterinary pathology and infectious diseases for international bodies