Francisco Parra is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Asturias University Institute of Biotechnology (IUBA), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oviedo (Spain). He received his MSc. Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Oviedo in 1975, and his PhD Degree in Biochemistry from the same institution in 1980. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Biochemistry Department of the University of Cambridge (UK) between 1980 and 1982, and at the Institute for Animal Health (Compton, UK) in 1985. He is the founder and head of the Molecular Virology and Parasitology Research Group at the University of Oviedo, since 1985. Prof. Parra pioneered in discovering the rabbit hemorragic disease virus (Caliciviridae) as the causative agent of  rabbit hemorragic disease. He is interested in molecular biology approaches applied to the study of relevant animal and human pathogens, mainly parasites and viruses. The main projects of his laboratory focus on the identification, cloning, and heterologous expression of genes from parasite and viral pathogens, aiming to understand the molecular basis of their replication for the rational design of novel antiviral strategies, diagnostics, and vaccines. His main viral targets include caliciviruses, myxoma virus, and herpesviruses.