Dr. Montoya is the Clinical Director of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences (DTMC) of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) HEAL Initiative in Therapeutics Development for Opioid and Stimulant Use Disorders.
He leads a large program of research that supports the development of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). He is an M.D. and psychiatrist from the University of Antioquia (Colombia) and has a Master’s in Public Health (M.P.H.) from Johns Hopkins University.
He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Intramural Research Program of NIDA and was the Director of the Practice Research Network of the American Psychiatric Association. He has published extensively in the areas of etiology, prevention, treatment (pharmacological and non-pharmacological), and medical consequences of SUDs.
He is the editor of a book summarizing the science on biologics (vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and enzymes) to treat SUDs and another book focusing on the science of Cannabis Use Disorders. He has received numerous awards including the NIH Director’s Award and the Michael Morrison Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD).