Rafael is a native of El Salvador, attended medical school in Costa Rica, and completed an Internal Medicine residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach and an Infectious Diseases fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida.
In 1993 he joined the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine where he had an active clinical and research practice over the next 23 years with a research focus on new therapies for HIV infection and on salvage strategies for highly treatment experienced patients. He was involved in over 100 clinical trials, generated an extensive publication record, and held several administrative roles including Chief Medical Officer of the University of Miami Hospital. He left academia with the rank of Professor of Clinical Medicine and joined Gilead Sciences in 2016 with responsibility for Medical Affairs in Latin America covering the HIV and viral hepatitis therapeutic areas.
Since November of 2021 he has been the Executive Director for Scientific Affairs for MSD with global responsibility for the HIV Merck Investigator Studies Program that administers research activities originating with external stakeholders.
