Muro Promoted

The Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BioE), the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research (IBBR) is pleased to announce Silvia Muro's promotion to the rank of associate professor with tenure, effective July 1.

"Silvia's promotion speaks to her commitment to excellence all areas: education, research, service, and impact," says BioE professor and chair William E. Bentley. "I'm sure I speak for all of IBBR and the department in congratulating her."

"Bioengineering and IBBR have been great environments for the development of my research program," says Muro. "I have also been very lucky to attract remarkable students and postdocs to work in my lab, as well as important funding support, which enabled me to quickly establish a strong research program. We look forward to continuing in this direction."

Muro received her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, in 1999. Before joining the University of Maryland, she had an extensive career in medical and biomolecular research, including postdoctoral appointments, academic appointments and fellowships in Canada, Denmark, Spain and the U.S.

Since her arrival in 2008, she has established herself as an innovator in the field of targeted therapeutic and drug delivery, particularly for the treatment of rare lysosomal diseases.

Muro and her group members have won numerous grants and awards for their work, including a $1.72M National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant to develop new treatments for genetic diseases affecting lungs and brain, and first place in the Life Sciences category in the 2010 University of Maryland Invention of the Year competition for the development of a novel drug delivery strategy that uses targeted carriers capable of crossing the gastrointestinal epithelium via natural vesicular transport mechanisms.

"What Dr. Muro expects from us is the same thing she expects from herself: unrelenting hard work," says Muro Group member and postdoctoral research associate Viraj Mane. "That's what got her here, and so it's not surprising at all that she continues to gain recognition."

Published May 30, 2012