Dr. Martinez’s research is focused on understanding how alterations in the p53 gene contribute to the development of cancer. The wildtype form of p53 is a critical tumor suppressor gene that is frequently inactivated in human cancers. The majority of genetic lesions suffered by this tumor suppressor gene are missense mutations that disable its ability to block tumor development. However, these missense mutations can also give rise to mutant forms of p53 (mutant p53) that function as oncogenes that promote cancer progression through what is collectively referred to as gain-of-function (GOF) activities.

One of the primary areas of investigation in Dr. Martinez’s laboratory has been to determine the underlying mechanism(s) that permit mutant p53 to exhibit GOF activity.