Associate Professor (2017) at the School of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (ETSIAMN) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), and current Director of the University Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV). Previously, he was a Ramón y Cajal research fellow at the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA), a Tenured Lecturer (2007–11), and an Adjunct Professor (2011–17) at ETSIAMN-UPV. His PhD focused on the adaptation and quality improvement of Solanum muricatum L. under Mediterranean conditions, earning his doctorate cum laude in January 2003.
His main lines of research are related to germplasm evaluation, phenomic and genomic characterization, selection and breeding of Solanaceae species—mainly peppers and other Capsicum species—and other neglected crops, with the aim of adapting them to low-input and organic farming conditions, and improving their nutritional and organoleptic quality, among other goals. He collaborates with several national and international research groups, with a strong international profile reflected in European projects and publications with teams from France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the USA, and Mexico. He currently leads the Capsicum breeding group at COMAV, whose main research lines include adaptation to organic farming, recovery of traditional varieties, breeding of traditional varieties for resistance, nutritional quality, and aroma, and the use of related wild species for the development of new breeding materials.
