Dr. Xavier Nadal holds a BSc in Biology (in 2003) from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), a MSc in Pharmacology (in 2006) and a PhD in Health and Life Sciences (in 2011) from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). His PhD research in the Neuropharmacology laboratory at UPF focused on the role of the endocannabinoid and opioid systems in the regulation of neuropathic pain. From 2011 to 2018, he was head of the R&D-Extraction Department at Phytoplant Research, where he developed 2 patent families for the purification of cannabinoids by direct crystallization of extracts or by liquid-liquid chromatography. Throughout his academic and professional career Dr. Xavier Nadal has published several scientific articles and book chapters on the endocannabinoid system, focusing on the applications and mechanisms of action of phytocannabinoids.

Originally from Michigan, and after earning a BSc and MSc in Agronomy, he received his PhD in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis in 2008. He has worked in private industry in France and Spain as a plant breeder for Syngenta, and for the past 10 years as a researcher focusing on molecular breeding and plant genomics at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) and the Institute for Research and Technology in Agri-Food (IRTA) in Barcelona. For the last five years he has led the CRAG/IRTA partnership with an US company, based in Colorado (USA), to apply genetic marker technology to cannabis breeding under the first cultivation authorization granted to a Public Research Organization by AEMPS in Spain.

Professor of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at the Faculty of Science at the University of Extremadura. PhD in Biological Sciences. Visiting Professor at the Soil and Water Science Department of the University of Florida, USA.
 
He is the director or co-director of 11 PhD Theses, several of them with International Mention and Extraordinary Doctorate Award, as well as numerous Bachelor’s Theses, degree and Master’s theses in the experimental R+D+I modality.

Coordinator and founder in 1998 of the Research Group Management, conservation and recovery of soils, water and sediments (GORSAS). His research interests are in circular economy, sustainability of primary production systems, food safety and quality, adaptation to climate change, and efficient use of resources. He has participated in 34 international, national and regional research projects, author of more than 60 indexed articles in the areas of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and numerous participations in communications and extension activities in projects with cooperatives and companies, public bodies and administrations.

Holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, where he graduated in 1992 and where he completed a master’s degree in Plant Nutrition, Soils and Fertilisation. He obtained his PhD at the UEX.

He has published about 4 dozen scientific articles in indexed journals, in addition to several other scientific and knowledge transfer publications in national and international journals. He participated or coordinated more than 2 dozen national and international research projects. He is a professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre since 1996, where he has been President of the Pedagogical Council and Director of the Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas.