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. 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 United Kingdom Health Security Agency) as a Senior Veterinary Pathologist and Project Manager in September 2018. He has been studying the host-pathogen interaction and working on vaccine development in porcine diseases, tuberculosis, COVID19, and many other zoonoses. Javier has been carrying out numerous consultancy missions on veterinary pathology and infectious diseases for FAO, EU, GTRP and other international institutions. He is a frequent speaker in Scientific Conferences and has been lecturing on veterinary histology, comparative pathology and infectious diseases in numerous universities in different countries