Born in Talavera de la Reina in 1960. Degree in Veterinary Medicine (1982) and Doctor in Biochemistry (1987), Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Postdoctoral studies in the Haematology Department of the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London (1988-1991), where he specialised in hereditary erythroenzymopathies and G6PD deficit.

Associate Professor of the University of Extremadura (1984-1988), Professor (1991-2007) and Head of Department (2007-present) of the Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Director of Translational II Haematology of the Instituto de Investigación del Hospital 12 de Octubre (2008-present) and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology IV of the Universidad Complutense, Madrid (2008-present).

Visiting Professor in Hammersmith Hospital of Imperial College, London (April 1995-April 1996), in the University of Mauritius (1997: 1 month), in Naples CNR (2000: 3 months), in the University for Developmental Studies de Tamale-Ghana (2005: 1 month) and in the Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar-Senegal (2012-1 month).

Researcher into the molecular mechanisms involved in G6PD deficits associated with malaria-tolerant phenotypes and other hereditary erithroenzymopathies, with emphasis on pathology, pharmacogenetics and gene therapy. He was the main researcher in 30 competitive research projects, including 5 for the European Commission (2 as Coordinator), 1 for UNESCO and 13 in the Nacional Plan. He has published more than 100 indexed scientific articles, has registered 2 patents and coordinated 3 projects for cooperation and development in Ghana.