He earned a degree in Biochemistry from Universidad de Chile and a PhD degree from Wayne State University (USA). His international experience includes roles as Research Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Research Associate at the Association pour la Recherche Contre le Cancer (France), and Adjunct Professor at Dartmouth Medical School.

In Chile, he served as Director of the Department of Biology at Universidad de Chile and cofounded the Molecular Biotechnology program leading to a professional degree. He also coordinated the Biology section of FONDECYT and was President of both the Chilean Society of Immunology and the Chilean Society of Cellular Biology. He is a founding member of Fundación Ciencia & Vida.

He has authored more than 100 scientific publications and 10 patents, and he is a member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences. He has received several awards in recognition of his work, including the 2008 Academic Excellence Award (Universidad de Chile), the Merit Award (Universidad Andrés Bello), and the Basic Science Mentor Award from the Transplantation Society (USA).

Currently, he is a Professor at Universidad de Chile and Universidad San Sebastián, Executive Director of Fundación Ciencia & Vida, and Director of the PhD Program in Immunology and Microbiology at Universidad San Sebastián.