Salzano is emeritus professor, Genetics Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He obtained his PhD at the University of São Paulo and has done postgraduate work at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. His career at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul included all levels up to full professorship and important administrative positions. His honours include: three National Prizes; inclusion in the National Order of Scientific Merit, Great Cross Class, Brazil; Ibero-American Society of Human Genetics and Human Biology Association Prizes (both from the USA); and Honorary Citizenship, Porto Alegre. He is a member of the Brazilian, Chilean, Latin American and US academies of science, Doctor Honoris Causa, Universities of Toulouse and Costa Rica, and served in the boards of several Brazilian, Latin American, and international scientific societies.