Graduated from the School of Medicine, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA FMB). In 1979, Álvaro A. Cruz completed Master's and Doctoral degrees at UFBA and a post-doctorate degree at Johns Hopkins University-USA (1990). He is currently an Associate Professor at UFBA and Coordinator of the Centre of Excellence in Asthma at UFBA (FAPESP). He is a member of the planning group of the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD)/OMS, of the Board of Directors Global Initiative Against Asthma (GINA) and of the ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma). He was a member of the Executive Committee of the GARD/WHO between 2007 and 2008. He started the Program for the Control of Asthma (ProAR) in Bahia, was Coordinator of the Post-graduate Program in Medicine and Health (PPgMS) and Chief of Pneumology Service at the University Hospital of the UFBA.  He is a Permanent Faculty member of 2 graduate programs at the FMB and researcher at the Immunology Service, University Hospital (SIM)-UFBA. He has experience in the field of medicine and public health, with an emphasis on chronic respiratory diseases (Pneumology and Allergology). In 2009, he received a special award from the World Allergy Organisation.

Researcher 1B at CNPq.