Silvia Montaner is a Professor in the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Montaner received her B.S. and M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Murcia, Spain. She did her graduate training on the role of small GTPases in the regulation of gene transcription at the Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1997. In addition, she received her Master in Public Health from the Pontificia-Comillas University of Madrid in 1998. Dr. Montaner joined then the laboratory of Dr. Silvio Gutkind at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), as an International Fulbright Scholar and Postdoctoral Fellow, to pursue research on the molecular pathogenesis of Kaposi’s Sarcoma. She subsequently jointed the faculty of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Dentistry in 2004, and the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2005. As Principal Investigator of her research group, Dr. Montaner studies vascular biology in both cancer and ocular diseases and her research program is funded by national grants. She has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts in prestigious journals, and has authored several reviews and book chapters. Dr. Montaner has presented her research in national and international research conferences and is recognized as a leader in the field of signal transduction in vascular biology. Dr. Montaner is the course director of the Physiology course for freshman students of the UMB Dental School and serves as research mentor of many undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students at UMB. She also serves in multiple school and university committees and national and international grant study sections. 

Awards  

• Summa Cum Laude, B.S. in Biochemistry
• University Academic Award, University of Murcia, Spain
• First National Graduation Award, Department of Education, Spain
• M. Sc. in Biochemistry, with Honors
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, with Honors
• Gaspar Casal Foundation Award, Madrid, Spain
• Fulbright Award, Scholar Fulbright Program, USA
• Fogarty International Fellowship, NIH, Bethesda, MD
• Scientific Director’s Post Doctoral Travel Award, NIDCR, NIH, Bethesda, MD
• Fellows Award for Research Excellence, NIH, Bethesda, MD 

Teaching

Current courses

Past courses

Grants 

Active Grants: 

• R01EY025705  NIH/NEI  Montaner (PI)
  Promotion of retinal vascular hyperpermeability and macular edema by ANGPTL4.
  
  
• R01EY025705-S1  NIH/NEI  Montaner (PI)
  Supplement, Promotion of retinal vascular hyperpermeability and macular edema by ANGPTL4.
  
  
• R01EY032104  NIH/NEI  Montaner (PI)
  Elucidation of novel anti-angiogenic therapies for the prevention and treatment of neovascular glaucoma 

Completed Grants

• JHU-UMD DRC Grant   JHU Diabetes Research Center/NIH   Montaner (PI)          
  Angptl4: a novel molecular target for diabetic eye disease.
   
• Research Contract Agreement   Novartis    Montaner (PI)  
  IAP inhibitors for the treatment of Kaposi’s sarcoma
   
• Cancer Research Pilot Grant    UMB Greenebaum Cancer Center     Montaner (PI)
  Regulation of angiogenesis and vascular permeability by Angiopoietin-like 4 in Kaposi’s sarcoma.
   
• R01CA119911   NIH/NCI   Montaner (PI)
  Molecular Targets for the Prevention and Treatment of Kaposi's Sarcoma.
   
• Cancer Research Pilot Grant   UMB Greenebaum Cancer Center   Montaner (PI)  
  Identification of Molecular Targets for the Development of Novel Mechanism-based Therapies for Oral Kaposi's Sarcoma.
   
• Research Grant   NIH/NIAID Support of Intramural Biodefense Research    Montaner (Co-PI)
  Molecular Pathogenesis of Ebola Virulence Genes in vivo.