I am a Biologist and obtained my PhD in 1990 in Genetics (Universidad Complutense, Madrid). After that I moved to the USA and France during three years to carry out post doctoral studies, specializing in Bayesian Statistics applied to Animal Breeding and Quantitative Genetics. I worked at the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) from 1993 - 1999 and at INRA (Toulouse, France) from 1999 til 2003, when I became an ICREA Research Professor. I am also part-time professor in Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Research interests

Most of the genes that are of socioeconomic importance, e.g., genes affecting disease susceptibility or that makes Iberian pig meat taste good, are very difficult to find because they are influenced by many genes of small effect. My main area of research is to develop statistical and computational tools that help us to identify these genes, now using high throughput sequencing technology. A topic of particular interest is studying the benefits (if any) of using complete sequence to predict genetic merit. I am also concerned with studying how man has shaped the pattern of genetic variation in livestock species, mainly in the pig, through domestication and artificial selection, and how pigs have adapted to extreme environments. I participated in the consortium leading to the publication of the pig genome sequence (Nature, 2012) and I am responsible for the first genome sequence of an ancient pig, a sow that lived in the 16th century in Montsoriu Castle (Girona) and of the first Iberian pig genome.