Bronwen Martin, Ph.D. -   Principal Investigator
Head, Metabolism Unit

Dr Bronwen Martin received her B.Sc. (Hons) from the University of Kent at Canterbury in Biochemistry, and her Ph.D. in Endocrinology from the University of Edinburgh (College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine), where she had a Medical Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship.  During this time, she worked with Professor Alan McNeilly and Professor Richard Sharpe at the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit, investigating the effects of neonatal endocrine disruption on the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal hormonal axis.  In 2004, Dr Martin joined the Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences Section in the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, MD, and conducted postdoctoral work investigating neuro-endocrine alterations during aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders.  During her postdoctoral training, Dr Martin was funded by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) to investigate novel endocrine-related therapeutic targets for the treatment of Huntington’s disease.  In 2009, Dr Martin was appointed as a Tenure Track Investigator in the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, where she now heads the Metabolism Unit.

Research overview: The aim of the Metabolism Unit is to use an integrative systems biology approach to understand the multitude of factors that control metabolic function and energy homeostasis.  Metabolism and aging are highly complex biological traits that involve entire networks of changes at both a molecular and systemic level, and require a broad systems approach to understanding how these networks change with age or are disrupted during disease.  Dr Martin’s group focuses on the development of novel therapeutic strategies that enhance metabolic function during the aging process and aims to uncover effective treatment avenues for complex aging-related disorders that have underlying endocrine pathophysiologies.  Additionally, the Metabolism Unit is investigating how cognitive ability or susceptibility to neurodegenerative disorders is affected by general systemic metabolic function, and how cognitive decline during aging could potentially be reduced by enhancing general metabolic health.   The Metabolism Unit uses genetic, proteomic, bioinformatic, metabolomic, NMR, in vitro and animal behavioral approaches to investigate alterations in metabolic function and energy homeostasis during aging, and to screen potential drug candidates and targets that can maintain or enhance metabolic control.

Key words:  Metabolism, energy homeostasis, endocrinology, systems biology, aging

Bronwen Martin, Ph.D.
Head, Metabolism Unit
National Institute on Aging – National Institutes of Health
251 Bayview Blvd., Suite 100, Room 8B127
Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
Phone:  (410) 558-8652
Email:  martinbro@mail.nih.gov