Dr. Martinez graduated with his B.S. in Psychology from the University at Buffalo in 2006. He received his M.S. (2011) and Ph.D. (2013) in Neuroscience from Georgia State University. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota, where he became interested in the neural/hormonal mechanisms driving the development and later expression of sex differences in drug addiction, using rat models of addictive behaviors.

In order to become informed consumers of the scientific content that pervades our daily lives, we must be able to critically assess this information. This requires a degree of scientific literacy that goes beyond mastery of fundamental course content. Towards this end, Dr. Martinez employs classroom strategies that focus on generating novel content (e.g., developing novel hypotheses, designing alternative experiments) from the existing neuroscience literature. Dr. Martinez also values a multi-modal approach to neuroscience instruction, including student contributions to scientific discoveries. In the lab, Dr. Martinez works with individual students to develop the technical abilities, conceptual knowledge, and scientific communication skills necessary to help them reach their specific personal and professional goals.