Juan completed undergraduate studies in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Universidad de Carabobo (Venezuela) in 2007, followed by a PhD in Immunology and Infection Biology by the University of Edinburgh in 2017. In 2021, Juan was awarded a prestigious Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship to establish the foundation of his laboratory at the University of Glasgow, exploring the neuroimmunological basis of infection-induced sleep and circadian disruptions, using African sleeping sickness as a model infection system. His studies revealed two novel aspects of this disease: 1) he identified a previously unappreciated interaction between regulatory B cells and microglia in the hypothalamus during chronic neuroinflammation, which led him to discover that B cells are key players in brain homeostasis, and 2) that chronic sleeping sickness results in a brain autoimmune disorder in mice and humans, sharing features of other neurodegenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis. In 2025, Juan was awarded an 8-year Wellcome Trust Career Development Award to explore how B cells support brain development and resilience, with a focus on sleep and neurodevelopmental disorders. His laboratory encompasses neuroscientists and immunologists unpicking the intricate interactions that B cells establish with the brain throughout life, and whether/how these cells may be exploited as novel immunotherapies for neurodevelopmental disorders.