Dr. David Carmena has been a senior researcher based in the Parasitology Reference and Research Laboratory of the Spanish National Center for Microbiology since May 2013, when he was awarded a Miguel Servet Fellowship by the Health Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Since 2018, he has held a distinguished researcher position at the same institution. His research focuses on zoonotic diseases caused by protist (Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Blastocystis, Enterocytozoon, Entamoeba, and Balantioides) and helminth (Echinococcus) species, and he has a particular interest in aspects related to the diagnosis, epidemiology, transmission dynamics, zoonotic potential and evaluation of economic losses caused by these pathogens, which he considers from both human and animal health perspectives. He received his Ph.D. in Parasitology from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) in 2001, and completed his first post doctorate degree at the Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College (London, UK) (2002–04), before joining the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College (London, UK), first as a research assistant (2005–2007) and later as a research associate (2007–13). At the MRC CSC, he was involved in a number of research projects that sought to investigate the role of protein kinases in the regulation of different metabolic pathways.