Dr. Martinez is an infectious disease ecologist. Her primary focus is understanding how ecology, social determinants of health, immunology, Climate Change, and demography intersect to shape health and disease. A focus of her lab is deconstructing epidemics and seasonal phenomena. Supported by the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, her research falls into five themes: (1) seasonal disease transmission, (2) maternal immunity, (3) the realized effects of vaccines, (4) human biological rhythms, and (5) social justice and health. During the pandemic, the lab began working on how environmental racism and social inequities manifest COVID-19 health disparities, with particular emphasis on Black and Latinx communities in New York City.
Dr. Martinez
