María Jesús Cruz earned an undergraduate degree in biology in 1993 (Universitat de Barcelona) and a PhD in biology in 2005 (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). She is the coordinator of the pneumology research group of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). Research lines in which she works include: occupational asthma, asthma and environmental pollution, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and asbestos exposure pathology. Her scientific productions include: author or co-author of 160 scientific publications (PubMed), and author or co-author of more than 500 scientific communications to international and national congresses. She has served as the promotor of 10 doctoral theses.