Prof Montero joined the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong in 2020. Following a PhD with leading cardiovascular exercise physiologists in Avignon (France), he received postdoctoral training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Maastricht (Netherlands), the Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology and the Department of Cardiology at the University Hospital of Zurich (Switzerland). It was in the Alpine country when he consolidated his main scientific tenets with the compelling influence of Prof. Carsten Lundby, a preeminent exponent of the Scandinavian School of Exercise Physiology. In brief, Prof Montero welcomes challenging questions, specifically those with the potential to arise the necessary intrinsic motivation to be enthusiastically immersed in them. "We dive into complexity to emerge with simplicity". Current research questions converge upon fundamental mechanisms underpinning the cardiac-hematological capacity to deliver oxygen to the tissues, one of the strongest performance (endurance) and clinical (all-cause mortality) predictors. Embracing integrative approaches, his laboratory focuses on the controlled manipulation and accurate acquisition of the interplay between cardiovascular, hematological and metabolic systems during physiologically relevant conditions. Exercise is implemented as means to magnify and thereby facilitate the understanding of key intertwined mechanisms of the human body in health and disease. The scope of Prof Montero’s research group can be best appreciated by reading their publications. Their work is regularly published in highly ranked journals within basic, translational and clinical fields.

1. Montero D. The carotid baroreflex: the ultimate hemodynamic factor limiting aerobic capacity? J Physiol 2024.
2. Meihan Guo, Candela Diaz-Canestro, Montero D. The Frank-Starling mechanism is not enough: blood volume expansion prominently decreases pulmonary O2 uptake. Mil Med Res 2024.
3. Meihan Guo, Candela Diaz-Canestro, Nicola Riccardo Pugliese, Franceso Paneni, Montero D. Lean Body Mass and the Cardiorespiratory Phenotype: an Ethnic-Specific Relationship in Hans Chinese Women and Men. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 2024.
4. Diaz-Canestro C, Tse HF, Yiu KH, Montero D. Reduced lean body mass: a potential modifiable contributor to the pathophysiology of heart failure. Eur Heart J 2023.
5. Meihan Guo, Candela Diaz-Canestro, Ming Ng, Kai Hang Yiu, Montero D. The Chinese cardiorespiratory and circulatory system at work in women and men: a case-control study. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 2023.
6. Guo M, Diaz-Canestro C, Montero D. Blood volume explains the relationship of lean body mass with the cardiovascular system in men but not in women. Mayo Clinic Proc 2023.
7. Diaz-Canestro C, Pentz B, Sehgal A, Yang R, Xu A, Montero D. Lean body mass and the cardiovascular system constitute a female-specific relationship. Sci Transl Med 2022.
8. Diaz-Canestro C, Pentz B, Sehgal A, Montero D. Sex differences in cardiorespiratory fitness are explained by blood volume and oxygen carrying capacity. Cardiovasc Res. 2021.
9. Diaz-Canestro C, Montero D. Blood volume primarily determines orthostatic tolerance in women. J Intern Med 2021.
10. Diaz-Canestro C, Siebenmann C, Montero D. Blood oxygen carrying capacity determines cardiorespiratory fitness in middle-aged and older women and men. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2021.
11. Diaz-Canestro C, Sehgal A, Pentz B, Montero D. Sex specificity in orthostatic tolerance: the integration of hematological, cardiac and endocrine factors. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2021.
12. Diaz-Canestro C, Pentz B, Sehgal A, Montero D. Sex dimorphism in cardiac and aerobic capacities: the influence of body composition. Obesity 2021.
13. Diaz-Canestro C, Montero D. Unveiling women's powerhouse. Exp Physiol 2020.
14. Montero D, Diaz-Canestro C, Oberholzer L, Lundby C. The role of blood volume in cardiac dysfunction and reduced exercise tolerance in patients with diabetes mellitus. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2019.
15. Lundby C, Montero D. Did you know - why does maximal oxygen uptake increase in humans following endurance exercise training? Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2019.
16. Diaz-Canestro C, Montero D. Sex dimorphism of VO_2max trainability: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine 2019.
17. Montero D, Diaz-Canestro C. Body height is inversely associated with left ventricular end-diastolic pressure in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2019.
18. Montero D, Lundby, C. Arterial O₂ content regulates plasma erythropoietin independently of arterial O₂ tension: a blinded crossover study. Kidney Int 2018.
19. Montero D, Lundby, C. Regulation of red blood cell volume with exercise training. Compr Physiol 2018.
20. Montero D, Madsen K, Meinild-Lundby AK, Edin F, Lundby C. Sex dimorphism of substrate utilization: differences in skeletal muscle mitochondrial volume density and function. Exp Physiol 2018.
21. Montero D, Breenfeldt-Andersen A, Oberholzer L, Haider T, Goetze JP, Meinild-Lundby AK, Lundby C. Erythropoiesis with endurance training: dynamics and mechanisms. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp 2017.
22. Montero D, Lundby C, Ruschitzka F, Flammer A. True anemia ―red blood cell volume deficit― in heart failure: a systematic review. Circ Heart Fail 2017.
23. Montero D, Flammer A. Exercise intolerance in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: time to scrutinize diuretic therapy? Eur J Heart Fail 2017.
24. Montero D, Lundby C. Refuting the myth of non-response to exercise training: ‘non-responders’ do respond to higher dose of training. J Physiol 2016.
25. Montero D, Houben AJ, Koster A, Muris DM, Schram MT, Gronenschild EH, Sep SJ, Henry RM, van der Kallen CJ, Schaper NC, Dagnelie PC, van Geel TA, Kremers SP, Savelberg HH, Stehouwer CD. Physical activity is associated with glucose tolerance independent of microvascular function: the Maastricht Study. JCEM 2016.
26. Montero D, Rauber S, Goetze JP, Lundby C. Reduction in central venous pressure enhances erythropoietin synthesis: role of volume-regulating hormones. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2016.
27. Montero D, Diaz-Cañestro C, Keiser S, Lundby C. Arterial stiffness is strongly and negatively associated with the total volume of red blood cells. Int J Cardiol 2016 June 27.
28. Montero D, Cathomen A, Jacobs RA, Flück D, Leur J, Keiser S, Bonne T, Kirk N, Lundby AK, Lundby C. Haematological rather than skeletal muscle adaptations contribute to the increase in peak oxygen uptake induced by moderate endurance training. J Physiol 2015.
29. Montero D, Diaz-Cañestro, C. Endurance training and VO₂max with ageing: role of maximal cardiac output and oxygen extraction. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2015.