Xavier Donadeu obtained a degree in Veterinary Medicine from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in 1993 followed by a brief period of clinical practice in Spain.

He then did an internship in The School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, from where he also got a Master in Science degree in Animal Science in 1997. He completed PhD studies within the Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology at the University of Wisconsin in 2002 followed by post-doctoral work at the Department of Pharmacology of the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa.

In 2005 Xavier moved to Edinburgh to take up a Lecturer position in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh and since 2007 he has also been a Group Leader at the Roslin Institute.

He is interested in stem cell biology and the use of stem cells to study animal development and to generation models of disease.