Elisabeth Martinez, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Associate Professor

Download Curriculum Vitae

POSITIONS:

1993-1994 Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Newton, MA. Supervisor: Mary Roberts, Ph.D.

1994-1996 Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC. Supervisor: Mark Danielsen, Ph.D.

1996-2002 Graduate Student Research Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Supervisor/mentor: Mark Danielsen, Ph.D.

2002-2005 Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD. Supervisor: Gordon L. Hager, Ph.D.

2005- 2009 Instructor, Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern.

Sept. 2009 - 2013 Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern.

Sept. 2013-2019 Tenure track Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern.

Sept. 2019- Asoociate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern (tenured).

May 2022- Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UTSW

Graduate School

Georgetown University (2002)

• Deregulation of transcriptional pathways in cancer and other diseases
• Drug discovery
• Epigenetic control of gene expression
• Interplay between cellular metabolism and epigenetics
• Novel therapeutics for gene expression disorders
• Small molecule inhibitors of Jumonji enzymes
• The role of Jumonji histone demethylases in physiology and disease
• Transcriptional regulation by nuclear receptors and their cofactors

Featured Publications

JIB-04 Has Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Activity and Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Coronavirus Pathogenesis.

Son J, Huang S, Zeng Q, Bricker TL, Case JB, Zhou J, Zang R, Liu Z, Chang X, Darling TL, Xu J, Harastani HH, Chen L, Gomez Castro MF, Zhao Y, Kohio HP, Hou G, Fan B, Niu B, Guo R, Rothlauf PW, Bailey AL, Wang X, Shi PY, Martinez ED, Brody SL, Whelan SPJ, Diamond MS, Boon ACM, Li B, Ding S, mBio 2022 Jan e0337721

Inhibition of Jumonji demethylases reprograms severe dilated cardiomyopathy and prolongs survival.

Tran TA, Zhang QJ, Wang L, Gonzales C, Girard L, May H, Gillette T, Liu ZP, Martinez ED, J Biol Chem 2021 Dec 101515

Disruption of the Plasmodium falciparum Life Cycle through Transcriptional Reprogramming by Inhibitors of Jumonji Demethylases.

Matthews KA, Senagbe KM, Nötzel C, Gonzales CA, Tong X, Rijo-Ferreira F, Bhanu NV, Miguel-Blanco C, Lafuente-Monasterio MJ, Garcia BA, Kafsack BFC, Martinez ED, ACS Infect Dis 2020 Apr

Histone lysine dimethyl-demethylase KDM3A controls pathological cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis.

Zhang QJ, Tran TAT, Wang M, Ranek MJ, Kokkonen-Simon KM, Gao J, Luo X, Tan W, Kyrychenko V, Liao L, Xu J, Hill JA, Olson EN, Kass DA, Martinez ED, Liu ZP, Nat Commun 2018 12 9 1 5230

Jumonji Inhibitors Overcome Radioresistance in Cancer through Changes in H3K4 Methylation at Double-Strand Breaks.

Bayo J, Tran TA, Wang L, Peña-Llopis S, Das AK, Martinez ED Cell Rep 2018 Oct 25 4 1040-1050.e5

Taxane-Platin-Resistant Lung Cancers Co-develop Hypersensitivity to JumonjiC Demethylase Inhibitors.

Dalvi MP, Wang L, Zhong R, Kollipara RK, Park H, Bayo J, Yenerall P, Zhou Y, Timmons BC, Rodriguez-Canales J, Behrens C, Mino B, Villalobos P, Parra ER, Suraokar M, Pataer A, Swisher SG, Kalhor N, Bhanu NV, Garcia BA, Heymach JV, Coombes K, Xie Y, Girard L, Gazdar AF, Kittler R, Wistuba II, Minna JD, Martinez ED Cell Rep 2017 May 19 8 1669-1684

A small molecule modulates Jumonji histone demethylase activity and selectively inhibits cancer growth.

Wang L, Chang J, Varghese D, Dellinger M, Kumar S, Best AM, Ruiz J, Bruick R, Peña-Llopis S, Xu J, Babinski DJ, Frantz DE, Brekken RA, Quinn AM, Simeonov A, Easmon J, Martinez ED Nat Commun 2013 Jun 4 2035

Falling off the academic bandwagon. Women are more likely to quit at the postdoc to principal investigator transition.

Martinez ED, Botos J, Dohoney KM, Geiman TM, Kolla SS, Olivera A, Qiu Y, Rayasam GV, Stavreva DA, Cohen-Fix O EMBO Rep. 2007 Nov 8 11 977-81

Epigenetic modulation reveals differentiation state specificity of oncogene addiction.

Khaliq M, Manikkam M, Martinez ED, Fallahi-Sichani M, Nat Commun 2021 03 12 1 1536

A UHPLC-MS/MS method for the quantification of JIB-04 in rat plasma: Development, validation and application to pharmacokinetics study.

Wang Y, Ma J, Martinez ED, Liang D, Xie H, J Pharm Biomed Anal 2020 Nov 191 113587

• John P. Perkins, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Science
  UTSW (2019-2022)
• Gliman Special Opportunities Award
  UTSW (2016)
• Friends of the Cancer Center Award
  UTSW (2014)
• Dean's LEAD award
  (2013)
• Early Investigator Abstract award
  Keystone Symposia (2013)
• Abstract Award
  International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (2007)
• NIH Technology Transfer Award
  (2004)
• NIH FARE Research Excellence Award
  (2003)
• Keystone Symposia Travel awards
  (2002)
• Phi Beta Kappa
  1994-present (0)

• WISMAC (2020)
• Co-founder and Member of the Nuclear Receptor Resource Project, 1995-present
• Member of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2005-present
• Member of the American Society for Cell Biology, 2004-present
• Member of the Endocrine Society, 1997-present
• NIH Task Force on Recruitment and Retention of Women, Subcommittee co-chair, 2003-present