Prof. Attard graduated with honours in Pharmacy at the University of Malta (1994) and later furthered his studies on Maltese aromatic and medicinal plants by undertaking a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Veterinary Pharmacy (1995). He furthered his specialization and obtained a Doctorate in Agriculture from the same University in 2001. Prof. Attard has been lecturing in several areas related to medicinal plants and agricultural chemistry at the ex-Institute of Agriculture, Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems within the Institute of Earth Systems and the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Malta. In 2007 he was officially recognised by the Medicines Authority and appointed as the herbal consultant in assessing herbal medicinal products and food supplements. Since then, he has been the Maltese delegate on the Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products at the European Medicines Agency and the Homeopathic Medicinal Products Working Group of the Heads of Medicines Agencies of the European Union. Since 2008, he has been working on the valorization of local agricultural products through several national and interregional projects. Prof. Attard is the author/coauthor of several scientific papers and articles in renowned peer-reviewed medicinal plant and food science journals, and five book chapters. He delivered several presentations and posters at various conferences both at national and international levels.
Prof. Attard's main research interests are the constitution and pharmacological activities of plant extracts and metabolites.