He holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of La Frontera, Temuco, Chile, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Biology and Aquaculture from the University of Granada, Spain. His current research focuses on the mechanisms by which arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis induces stress tolerance in plants (drought, salinity, heat stress) and on the efficient use and acquisition of phosphorus in acidic soils under global change scenarios. He is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Fruit Farming (CEAF) and the Soil and Crop Technology Center (CTSyC) at the University of Talca.