Alvaro Pascual-Leone was born in Valencia, Spain and lives in the Boston area with his wife Elizabeth and their three children, Ana, Nico, and Andres. Dr. Pascual-Leone received his M.D. and a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology in 1985 from the Albert-Ludwigs University Medical School in Germany. After further training at the University of Minnesota and the National Institutes of Health, he worked in Spain for four years as a professor and staff scientist. In 1997 he joined Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

His major areas of research interest are the physiology of higher cognitive functions and the study of brain plasticity in skill acquisition and recovery from injury. In 2001, Pascual-Leone received the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology from the American Academy of Neurology.

Pascual-Leone also greatly enjoys teaching and is the recipient of the 2000 Daniel D. Federman Outstanding Clinical Educator Award from the Harvard Medical School.

Outside of work, Dr. Pascual-Leone enjoys playing with his children and spending time with his family. He is an avid tennis player and likes reading, writing and oil-painting.