Xavier Sáez Llorens obtained his medical degree at the University of Panama School of Medicine, and subsequently completed postdoctoral specialisation in Paediatrics (Panama) and infectious diseases (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA). Professor Sáez Llorens has been given multiple awards from national and international paediatric societies. Notably, he was distinguished in 1991 (ICAAC, Chicago) by the American Society for Microbiology, as one of the best young investigators in the USA in the field of infectious disease, in 2013 by the National Agency of Science and Technology (Senacyt), as the Panamanian physician with more international publications, in 2017 by the Gorgas Memorial Institute, as recipient of the William Gorgas medal for outstanding contribution to public health based on numerous high-impact vaccine trials in children, and in 2021 by the Panamanian Association for the Advancement of Science (APANAC), as recipient of the Excellence in Scientific Research. Professor Sáez Llorens is member of many academic associations in paediatrics, infectious disease and clinical research within Panama, Latin America, the USA and Spain. He has published more than 200 articles in foreign (122 indexed in PubMed) and local scientific journals and 50 chapters in reputed infectious disease textbooks. In addition, he is the main editor of 8 medical books, 3 philosophical books and more than 1000 newspaper columns on social and political matters. Professor Sáez Llorens is an international consultant of several scientific journals, including The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal and the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Currently, Xavier Sáez Llorens is Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Infectious Disease Department, and Director of Clinical Research at the Hospital del Niño, Distinguished Investigator of the National Research System (Senacyt) and of the Center for Vaccine Investigation (Cevaxin), member of the National Ethics Committee on Clinical Research in Panama City, Panama, honorary member of the Catalonian Institute of Biological Sciences, and Covid vaccine adviser for the Panamanian government.