Dr. Muro obtained her PhD in Sciences from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, then was a Research Assistant Professor in Pharmacology in the University of Pennsylvania, and then a Tenured Associate Professor in the University of Maryland. Since November 2017, she is an ICREA Professor in the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia. She has published 90+ articles and chapters in drug delivery and received awards from the Controlled Release Society, the American Society for Nanomedicine, has been a member of the USA NIH Nanomedicine Study Section and is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Research interests
Dr. Muro's research sits at the interface between cellular biology, nanotechnology, and drug delivery. She studies the biological mechanisms ruling how our tissues transport cargoes within our bodies and applies this knowledge to design of nanodevices for delivery of therapeutics to specific disease sites. Focusing on genetic conditions that cause metabolic, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular syndromes, as well as on a new transport pathway she helped discover, her goal is to gain efficient access within the body and its cells, to enable effective treatment of these life-threatening disorders.
Selected publications
- Solomon M, Loeck M, Silva-Abreu M, Moscoso R, Bautista R, Vigo M & Muro S 2022, 'Altered blood-brain barrier transport of nanotherapeutics in lyssosomal storage diseases', J Control release, 349:1031-1044.
- Roki N, Solomon M, Bowers J, Getts L, Getts RC & Muro S 2022, Tuning desing parameters of ICAM-1-targeted 3DNA nanocarriers to optimize pulmonary targeting depending on drug type. Pharmaceutics, 14(7):1496.
- Muntimadugu E, Silva-Abreu M, Vives G, Loeck M, Pham V, Del Moral M, Solomon M & Muro S 2022, 'Comparison between Nanoparticle Encapsulation and Surface Loading for Lysosomal Enzyme Replacement Therapy', Int J Mol Sci, 23, 7, 4034.
Selected research activities
Conferences:
-International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics, Valencia. Different neurological disorders alter differently brain endothelial transcytosis of drug nanocarriers.
-BIST Conference, Barcelona. (a) Analysis of different PLGA copolymer nanoparticles for lysosomal enzyme replacement therapy. (b) Cross-species delivery of drug nanoparticles targeted to ICAM-1. (c) Particullar lysosomal storage disorders either facilitate or hinder transcytosis of therapeutic nanocarriers across the blood-brain barrier.
Directed Theses:
-PhD: Comparative study of nanocarriers targeted to different transport pathways into and across the endothelium for brain delivery of therapeutic enzymes. Maximilian Loeck, U.Barcelona.
-TFM:(a) Study of the interaction of targeted nanocarriers with new cell models expressing ICAM-1 from different animal species. Elena Haro, U.Barcelona. (b) Analysis of different PLGA copolymer nanoparticles for lyssosomal enzyme relase. Maria del Moral, U.Barcelona.
Managerial-Leadership:
-Panel Reviewer: (a) Small Business-Biomaterials, delivery, and nanotechnology, USA National Institutes of Health; (b) European Resarch Council, Advanced Grant, LS7 Panel; (c) Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Generación de conocimiento.
-Scientific Advisory Board, International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics, Valencia.