Xavier Rovira Algans obtained his PhD at the Institute of Neurosciences of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He received several competitive grants that enabled him to undertake two predoctoral stays at Cornell University (New York) and at Université Paris Descartes (Paris), as well as a postdoctoral stay of around 5 years at the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle (Montpellier). These experiences allowed him to specialise in mathematical and molecular modelling of biological systems, cellular and molecular biology, bioinformatics and molecular pharmacology.

In February 2020, he joined the Medicinal Chemistry and Synthesis (MCS) laboratory at The Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), where he obtained a Ramón y Cajal grant. In 2022, he passed a competitive examination to become a permanent researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). His main research interest has been the activation dynamics of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

It is important to highlight that during these years he has established a network of collaborators that has played an essential role in the development of the emerging field known as photopharmacology. This emerging area of research is based on the development and use of light-controlled drugs to regulate proteins with high temporal and spatial precision in their native environment.