Dr. Cervantes is an assistant professor in medical microbiology, immunology, and epidemiology, as well as the director of the Laboratory for Education in Molecular Medicine at Paul L Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Cervantes holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D. degree. He is an expert in the field of infectious diseases and an awardee of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. 
 
Cervantes is an advocate for the integration of basic foundational sciences and clinical sciences. He has provided innovations in teaching to introduce new technological advances to health professionals, such as next-generation sequencing hands-on modules, sessions focusing on transplacental and perinatal infections and an innovative distance-learning elective course on the interpretation of the human microbiome. These approaches help students understand how basic science knowledge informs clinical practice, increasing their confidence in the application of these important scientific advances.
 
Cervantes has mentored a great number of students with their research on many projects on host-pathogen interactions. He is not only a well-published researcher, but also continues to serve as a reviewer for a long list of scientific and medical journals and holds editorial positions in renowned journals such as Clinical Microbiology Reviews, and Frontiers in Immunology.