Tomas Gonzalez-Hernandez received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of La Laguna (Spain) and specialized in Clinical Neurology at the University Hospital of Canary Islands (Spain). In 1989, he was appointed as a permanent professor of Human Anatomy at the University of La Laguna. His research interest was initially focused on the basal ganglia and the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, particularly on the role of dopamine transporters on the differential vulnerability of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, and the neuroprotective effects of the glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on different models of Parkinson’s disease. More recently, he focused on the induction of autophagy through D2R/D3R ligands, the intracellular pathways involved in their effects, and their neuroprotective potential on Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.