Dr. Leon is an immunologist with broad training in basic and clinical Immunology and a vocation for clinical development in the field of Mucosal Immunology. Prior to joining Alba, Dr. Leon was a Director of Clinical Development, Inflammatory and Respiratory Diseases at MedImmune (asthma, mucosal vaccination) and a Director of Clinical Discovery, Oncology/ Immunology at Bristol-Myers Squibb (Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, transplantation). Dr. Leon’s work was centered in the clinical development of immune modulators, with a focus on biologics (Orencia^®, anti-IL-9, anti-IL-5R) and expertise in biomarkers (FluMist^®, belatacept, ipilimumab).

Dr. Leon received his MD and PhD from Autonoma University, Madrid (Spain), and his PhD work was focused on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Celiac disease. He completed a residency in Clinical Immunology at Ramon y Cajal Hospital, Madrid, being elected Resident of the Year in Spain in 2001 (Sanitas Prize). Other clinical appointments included John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK and Tromsö Medical School, Norway. Dr. Leon was a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (Mucosal Immunity Section) and in the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology (Mucosal Biology Section) of the National Institutes of Allergy and infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. He has authored or co-authored 60 original peer-reviewed articles, reviews, book chapters and patents.