Education, Training and Research

I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa and attended college at Creighton University where I studied Biology. Following completion of my degree, I worked for a few years in a microbiology laboratory in Omaha and an environmental laboratory in Cedar Falls. While I was working, I enrolled in additional scientific classes at University of Northern Iowa, and after completing a course in Immunology I decided that I wanted to learn more about the subject and to explore a career in scientific research. I began studies as a Master’s student in the Pathology program at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2009 and worked under Dr. Vladimir Badovinac studying the properties of memory CD8 T cells. I finished my Master’s studies in the summer of 2011 and was awarded with the L.B. Sims Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award. Following completion of my Master’s studies I enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology at the University of Iowa where I continued to work with Dr. Badovinac. In December of 2015, I successfully defended my PhD Thesis, which examined time-dependent alterations in memory CD8 T cell properties and the consequences of those changes on CD8 T cell-mediated protection against infection, as well as the contributions of antigen and inflammation to memory CD8 T cell activation and protection. Following the defense of my PhD Thesis I have started training as a postdoc in the Badovinac laboratory where I will examine additional time-dependent alterations in memory CD8 T cell functions, CD8 T cell responses in outbred hosts, and transcriptional regulation of memory CD8 T cell properties.

Publications associated with the lab

1. Jensen IJ, MD Martin, SK Tripathy, and VP Badovinac. Novel mouse model of MCMV-induced adaptive NK cells. Immunohorizons 6: 8-15 (2022)[PubMed]

2. Martin MD, VP Badovinac, and TS Griffith. CD4 T cell responses and the sepsis-induced immunoparalyses state.  Front Immunol 11: 1364 (2020) [PubMed]
    
3. Martin MD, R Sompallae, CS Winborn, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. Diverse CD8 T cell responses to viral infection revealed by the Collaborative Cross. Cell Rep 31: 107508  (2020) [PubMed]
    
4. Martin MD, IJ Jensen, AS Ishizuka, M Lefebvre, Q Shan, HH Xue, JT Harty, RA Seder, VP Badovinac. Bystander responses impact accurate detection of murine and human antigen-specific CD8 T cells. J Clin Invest 130: 3894-3908 (2019) [PubMed]
    
5. Martin MD, VP Badovinac. Defining Memory CD8 T Cell. Front Immunol 9:2692 (2018) [PubMed]
    
6. Martin MD, DB Danahy, SM Hartwig, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. Revealing the Complexity in CD8 T Cell Responses to Infection in Inbred C57B/6 versus Outbred Swiss Mice. Front Immunol 8:1527 (2017) [PubMed]
    
7. Van Braeckel-Budimir N, MD Martin, SM Hartwig, KL Legge, VP Badovinac, and JT Harty. Antigen Exposure History Defines CD8 T Cell Dynamics and Protection During Localized Pulmonary Infections. Front Immunol 8: 40 (2017) [PubMed]
    
8. Martin MD, Q Shan, HH Xue, and VP Badovinac. Time and Antigen-Stimulation History Influence Memory CD8 T Cell Bystander Responses. Front Immunol 8: 634 (2017) [PubMed]
    
9. Shan Q, Z Zeng, S Xing, F Li, SM Hartwig, JA Gullicksrud, SP Kurup, N Van Braeckel-Budimir, Y Su, MD Martin, SM Varga, I Taniuchi, JT Harty, W Peng, VP Badovinac, and HH Xue. The transcription factor Runx3 guards cytotoxic CD8+ effector T cells against deviation towards follicular helper T cell lineage. Nat Immunol 18; 931-939. (2017) [PubMed]
    
10. Martin MD, and VP Badovinac. Sifting through CD8 T cell memory. Immunity 45: 1184-1186 (2016) [PubMed] 
     
11. He B, S Xing, C Chen, P Gao, L Teng, Q Shan, JA Gullicksrud, MD Martin, S Yu, JT Harty, VP Badovinac, K Tan, and HH Xue.  CD8 T cells utilize highly dynamic enhancer repertoires and regulatory circuitry in response to infections. Immunity 45: 1341-1354 (2016) [PubMed]
     
12. Janowski AM, OR Colegio, EE Hornick, JM McNiff, MD Martin, VP Badovinac, LA Norian, W Zhang, SL Cassel, and FS Sutterwala. NLRC4 suppresses melanoma tumor progression independently of Inflammasome activation. J Clin Invest 126: 3917-3928 (2016) [PubMed]
     
13. Martin MD, and VP Badovinac. Antigen-dependent and –independent contributions to primary memory CD8 T cell activation and protection following infection. Sci Rep 5: 18022 (2015)[PubMed] 
     
14. Martin MD, MT Kim, Q Shan, R Sompallae, HH Xue, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. Phenotypic and Functional Alterations in Circulating Memory CD8 T Cells with Time after Primary Infection. PLoS Pathog 11: e1005219 (2015) [PubMed] 
     
15. Khan SH, MD Martin, GR Starbeck-Miller, HH Xue, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. The Timing of Stimulation and IL-2 Signaling Regulate Secondary CD8 T Cell Responses. PLoS Pathog 11: e1005199 (2015) [PubMed] 
     
16. Rai D, MD Martin, and VP Badovinac. The Longevity of Memory CD8 T Cell Responses after Repetitive Antigen Stimulations. J Immunol 192: 5652-5659 (2014) [PubMed] 
     
17. Martin MD, and VP Badovinac. Influence of time and number of antigen encounters on memory CD8 T cell development. Immunol Res 59: 35-44 (2014) [PubMed] 
     
18. Duong S, SA Condotta, D Rai, MD Martin, TS Griffith, and VP Badovinac. Polymicrobial sepsis alters antigen-dependent and -independent memory CD8 T cell functions. J Immunol 192: 3618-25 (2014) [PubMed] 
     
19. Martin MD, SA Condotta, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. Population dynamics of naïve and memory CD8 T cell responses after antigen stimulations in vivo. J Immunol 188: 1255-65 (2012) [PubMed] 
     
20. Wirth TC, MD Martin, G Starbeck-Miller, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. Secondary CD8+ T-cell responses are controlled by systemic inflammation. Eur J Immunol 41: 1321-33 (2011) [PubMed] 
     
21. Martin MD, TC Wirth, P Lauer, JT Harty, and VP Badovinac. The impact of pre-existing memory on differentiation of newly recruited naive CD8 T cells. J Immunol 187: 2923-31 (2011) [PubMed]