Welcome María Virumbrales-Muñoz, PhD, to Division of Reproductive Sciences

Please help us welcome María Virumbrales-Muñoz, PhD, to the Department of Ob-Gyn’s Division of Reproductive Sciences! Virumbrales-Muñoz will joined the UW Department of Ob-Gyn as an assistant professor (tenure track) on September 1, 2023. 

Virumbrales-Muñoz earned a Master of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Zaragoza. She has been a postdoctoral researcher and scientist in the UW-Madison Department of Biomedical Engineering and the UW SMPH Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine since 2017. Her impressive research portfolio includes co-authorship of 31 papers and co-discovery on three patents, with a fourth currently submitted through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. 

During her time at the UW, Virumbrales-Muñoz has developed strong research and academic connections with members of our department. She is already a co-investigator on a UnityPoint Health-Meriter Foundation grant with Derek Boeldt, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, examining vascular pathologies of preeclampsia. She is a co-investigator on two R01 proposals currently submitted to the National Institutes of Health, alongside Boeldt and Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Divisions of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Reproductive Sciences.  

Virumbrales-Muñoz’s interests in female reproductive biology have led her to propose novel organ-on-a-chip models to study the pathogenesis and treatment of ovarian cancer and endometriosis, two major gynecologic diseases that cannot be successfully treated using current therapeutic approaches. Her work in this area has the potential to significantly advance research efforts in several divisions of the department.   

In addition to her unimpeachable research skills, Virumbrales-Muñoz is an exceptional teacher and mentor. In 2021, she received the UW Ob-Gyn Chester B. Martin Graduate Training Program Mentorship, selected by graduate students in our department. This award is specifically given to mentors who show excellence and dedication to graduate education. Her experience and research in cell and molecular biology and biomedical engineering will allow her to teach in team-taught or independent courses offered through the various biological sciences as well as biomedical engineering graduate programs at UW-Madison. 

Dr. Virumbrales-Muñoz will be a productive researcher, able and respected teacher and mentor, and a valuable colleague who promotes the mission of UW-Madison through her service on important academic assignments. Please help us welcome her to this new role in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology!