There, she established a solid research program in the field of drug delivery, which she had initiated as a Research Assistant Professor in the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Prior to this, she received her PhD in Sciences (Molecular Biology) from the University Autonoma of Madrid, after which she took up fellowships and postdoctoral appointments in medical, biomolecular, and drug targeting research in Spain, Canada, Denmark and the USA. She received the UMD Outstanding Life Sciences Invention of the Year award in 2011 and the Junior Faculty Outstanding Engineering Research award in 2012, and is a standing member of the NIH Nanotechnology (NANO) Study Section.
A main focus of her group at IBEC will be to understand the biological properties of these drug-carrying nanosystems, which influence how they are sensed and transported within the body, and how they interact with our tissues and cells. “Because of gaps in our knowledge about the biological parameters and pathways ruling the interaction and transport of drug carriers in the body, we haven’t yet been able to design devices that can effectively and specifically access diseased cells while leaving the healthy ones unharmed, or that can safely penetrate the blood-brain barrier,” explains Prof. Muro.
Her group will tackle this by taking a multidisciplinary approach aimed at reflecting the true biological variables encountered in the body. “We’ll use a battery of analytical tools, in silico predictions, cellular and animal models, and patient samples,” she says. “A better understanding of their biological properties will help us implement ‘biologically optimized’ drug carriers for syndromes which have neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and metabolic components.”
The activity of the new group is fully aligned with IBEC’s research strategy, which focuses its scientific and technological endeavours on applications in bioengineering for Future Medicine, Active Ageing, and Regenerative Therapies. It will boost the institute’s critical mass and leadership in the field of drug delivery, bringing it in line with the other two main fields of nanomedicine – diagnosis and regenerative medicine – for which IBEC is already internationally recognized.
Prof. Muro’s 125,7m2 laboratory space at IBEC is thanks to PO FEDER Catalunya 2014-2020, which funds spaces and equipment at the institute through the project “Adequació de nous espais de laboratoris i adquisició d’equipament científic per a els laboratoris de l’Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya pel desenvolupament de tecnologies per la medicina regenerativa i nanomedicina”.
