In 2015, Dr. Soto earned his degree from the School of Medicine at the University of Seville (Spain). During the last three years, he served as an Intern Student in the Department of Pathology, where he participated in academia and basic research, and completed his final degree project on experimental carcinogenesis. In 2021, he completed his specialty training in Medical Oncology at Ramon y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid (Spain). During his final year of residency, he was awarded the 3rd Edition of Scholarships for Medical Oncology Trainees, which allowed him to join the Thoracic Tumors and Cutaneous Cancer/Melanoma team at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona (Spain) as a clinical observer. That same year, he successfully obtained the ESMO Examination Certificate.

Following his residency, he relocated to Barcelona, where he joined the Early Drug Development Unit at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) as a junior researcher from 2021 to 2023. During that period, he completed his first clinical research fellowship and contributed as a sub-investigator in several phase I clinical trials. In 2023, he moved to London (United Kingdom) to undertake his second clinical research fellowship, specializing in Skin Cancer/Melanoma and Renal Cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital. His work focused on cell therapy and the management of immune-related toxicities. During his early years as a specialist, Juan Jose completed a Master’s Degree in Molecular Oncology, along with several postgraduate certifications in Immuno-Oncology, Clinical Research Methodology, Vaccines and Viral Immunology, and Cancer Genomics & Precision Oncology. In 2024, he also successfully completed the EORTC-ESMO-AACR Workshop on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research.

Ending 2024, he joined START CIOCC as a clinical investigator, where he currently serves as principal investigator and sub-investigator in more than 80 phase I clinical trials, including several First-In-Human and First-In-Class studies. In recent years, Dr. Soto has participated as a reviewer for several high-impact oncology journals, including The Lancet Oncology and European Journal of Cancer. Additionally, he has authored and co-authored multiple publications in first-quartile oncology journals, with more than 15 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). He has also actively contributed to international conferences, with presentations at ASCO, ESMO, ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT), and ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congresses. Dr. Soto has also a strong interest in academia, university programs, and medical student training.