Julian A. Martinez

Julian A. Martinez is an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Human Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. He has served at UCLA since 2007 as a board-certified Medical Geneticist within the Division of Medical Genetics.

Dr. Martinez's educational background includes:

• B.S. in Biology and Spanish Literature from Yale University
• M.D. from Yale School of Medicine
• Pediatric residency at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA
• Postdoctoral fellowship under Utpal Banerjee at UCLA

His research integrates medical genetics and developmental biology to investigate novel growth regulatory pathways in stem/progenitor cells. Focusing on human growth disorders with cancer predisposition, he utilizes Drosophila models, next-generation sequencing, and human neural stem cells to identify genetic bases of rare syndromes involving overgrowth, vascular malformations, and neurodevelopmental phenotypes. His laboratory has characterized novel syndromes and expanded phenotypic understanding of established disorders.

Dr. Martinez has received significant recognition including:

• Pediatrics Department Outstanding Research Award
• David W. Smith Pediatric Trainee Research Award from the Western Society for Pediatric Research

As Director of the NIH-funded T32 Medical Genetics Training Program, he oversees graduate medical education. His leadership extends to serving as Principal Investigator for UCLA's Undiagnosed Diseases Network site, Co-Director of the California Center for Rare Diseases, and Co-Director of the Pediatric Cancer Predisposition Program, securing major institutional grants for rare disease research.

His laboratory employs Drosophila, cancer cell lines, and human neural stem cell models to dissect mechanistic pathways in genetic disorders. Through the Undiagnosed Diseases Network and California Center for Rare Diseases, he coordinates multi-institutional teams advancing diagnostics for undiagnosed conditions while developing translational approaches for cancer-predisposition syndromes.