Is a Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the Biomedical Institute of the University of Porto -IBMC, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde –  i3S President and head of the Molecular Genetics Group of IBMC. 

He is a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization since 2000, was Vice-President of the European Molecular Biology Conference (2007-2010), Vice-President of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Council (2010-2012), elected Chair of the EMBL Council (2013). Currently is a member of the Wellcome Trust-India Alliance fellowship selection committee (2009-2014). During 2007-2008 was the National Coordinator for the Evaluation of Research Units by the Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal.

His laboratory is mostly devoted to the study cell division and of the mechanisms involved in maintaining genomic stability in higher eukaryotes. Started these studies during his postdoctoral work at Imperial College, UK, and later continued in Porto. Has published over 100 original peer-review articles.

Supervised 24 PhD students and many postdocs. Teaches Molecular Genetics for Biochemistry and Bioengineering BsC Major at ICBAS, University of Porto. First Degree Honors in Biology (1979) and a PhD in Genetics (1983) from Sussex University, UK. Was born in Santiago, Chile, 1958.