Dr. Montezuma earned her medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. After finishing her first residency in ophthalmology at the Fundacion Oftalmologica de Santander, Colombia in 2001, she joined the Boston Retinal Implant Project at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI)/ Harvard Medical School (HMS)/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she performed basic science research in the field of retinal prosthesis for nearly 4 years. She did a second surgical internship at Brigham and Women’s hospital in 2005 and a second residency in ophthalmology in 2008, followed by a two year surgical retina fellowship in 2010 at MEEI/HMS. After 10 extra years of surgical ophthalmology training at Harvard, she moved to Minnesota to join the University of Minnesota (UMN), where she has practiced for more than 15 years. During her career at the UMN, she was the director of the medical student ophthalmology clerkship for 10 years and the director of the retina clinic for 5 years until 2026. Dr. Montezuma has mentored numerous medical students, residents and retina surgeon fellows, many of her trainees continuously serving the local community of Minnesota.   She is currently an adjunct professor at the University.

Dr. Montezuma has received multiple awards including the distinguished Teaching and Service Award at MEEI/HMS, the Gilligham Fellowship Award at The Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology and the 13th Fellowship Research Award at the Retina Society in 2010. In 2017 and 2023 she received the Mentoring and Teaching Award and the Clinical Excellence Honors for distinguished patient care and service at the UMN. In 2018 she received the prestigious endowed Knobloch Chair Professorship. In 2022 the Clinical Teaching Excellence Award. She's been awarded the 2022 America’s Most Honored Doctors by the American registry and in several years 2020, 2022, 2025 she was awarded the Castle Connolly Top doctors.

She is an expert in medical and surgical care for all retina conditions in adults and children. She has authored/co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in the ophthalmology field. She has published more than 150 peer-reviewed abstracts presented as poster or podium presentations at national and international meetings. She is an active member of several ophthalmological societies including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Minnesota Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (MAEPS) and the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), among others.

 

She has served as principal investigator of numerous national and international clinical trials and research projects. Her main research interest includes age-related macula degeneration, ocular trauma, inherited retinal diseases, pediatric retina, retinal implants and retinal prosthesis.

 

​Dr Montezuma lives in Plymouth with her husband and two children and enjoys spending her free time beating them in the game of Catan, and spending time on beautiful Medicine Lake.   

 

Languages spoken: English and Spanish.

 

Education

Medical and Surgical Retina fellowship

Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, US

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Second Ophthalmology residency

Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, US