Silvia Muro

Associate Professor Silvia Muro is the only molecular and cell biologist in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering. A main direction of her work is the application of targeted nanocarriers to provide more effective therapies for lysosomal storage diseases. She creates tools for enabling new discovery and therapy, including nanobiotechnological drug delivery systems, among others. Her efforts to understand diseases such as propionic academia, a life-threatening genetic disease among newborns, led to the world’s first genetic pre-natal diagnosis. The European and Spanish Societies for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism has recognized Dr. Muro three times with awards. She was awarded an NIH RO1 grant on her first attempt. She has published more than 30 high quality manuscripts in top-tier journals and her students already have won several awards for their research, including best meeting presentations and the UMD Invention of the Year award.