F. Xavier Bosch is senior consultant to the Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL) and Honorific consultant to the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Dr Bosch was founder and first editor in chief of the journal Papillomavirus Research (PVR) and the editor of the international newsletter HPV World (www.hpvworld.com). He served as guest editor of the HPV MONOGRAPH series (Vaccine, Elsevier 2006-2013) and is the founder and current Director of and e-learning program in oncology and notably on e-courses on cervical cancer prevention (www.eoncologia.net). He served as epidemiologist at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Lyon, France 1982-1993) and as visiting scientist at the National Cancer Institute (Washington, USA 2002). Dr Bosch has conducted epidemiological research on cancers linked to infectious agents notably on cancer of the liver, the cervix, the genital tract and of the oral cavity and oropharynx. Dr Bosch was at the origin of the IARC program of epidemiological studies that demonstrated causality in the HPV and invasive cervical cancer relationship, established the role of the environmental co-factors for carcinogenesis among HPV positive women, and described the international variation of HPV types in cervical cancer. Some of these studies have played a catalytic role for the initiation of the vaccine trials and programs for HBV and HPV and for the evaluation of HPV tests as screening tools. Current interest reside in dissemination of scientific information of clinical relevance and in studies that integrate HPV vaccination and screening in environments with limited resources. Dr Bosch’s publications in relation to HPV and cervical cancer amount to over 500 original publications, over 25 monograph books and major reviews and over 900 scientific communications at medical meetings.