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Dr. Marta Martins

Assistant Professor/ Head of Discipline (Microbiology)
MOYNE INSTITUTE
      
Profile Photo

Dr. Marta Martins

Assistant Professor/ Head of Discipline (Microbiology)
MOYNE INSTITUTE

 mmartins@tcd.ie

 3531896 1194


Dr. Marta Martins has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, specialisation of Microbiology, conferred by the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, New University of Lisbon (IHMT/UNL), Lisbon, Portugal. Currently, her research addresses the study of antibiotic resistance in bacteria of public health importance, along with aspects of the infection biology, using a combination of classical microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology, immunology and functional genomic techniques. She is mainly interested in the way that bacteria adapt to certain environments and respond to the stresses encountered, focusing on the bacteria physiological and molecular mechanisms. In the last years she has published several book chapters addressing this subject. She is also a member of the European network in antibiotic resistance, COST Action- Antibiotic transport & efflux: new strategies to combat bacterial resistance. She is currently a reviewer, by invitation, of manuscripts submitted for publication to Immunotherapy; Biochemistry and Pharmacology; The Open Microbiology Journal; European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, being also a member of the Editorial Board of Conference Papers in Microbiology and a Guest Editor of Frontiers in Microbiology.
  Alternative therapies   Antimicrobial resistance   Applied and Environmental microbiology   Bacterial pathogenicity   Bacteriology and bacterial pathogenesis   Biomedical sciences   Clinical research, trials   Diagnostics   Drug discovery, profiling, targeting   Host, Pathogen interactions   Immune system   Immunomodulation   In vitro testing, trial methods   Macrophage infection   Multidrug Resistance   Tuberculosis
Project Title
 TRINITY - Tackling antibiotic Resistance IN Intracellular Salmonella using Thioridazine
From
2017
To
2021
Summary
The worldwide occurrence of antimicrobial resistance and the lack of new antibiotics is jeopardising our ability to treat infections. This triggered the search for novel molecules as well as for the repurposing of existing drugs. One of these compounds, Thioridazine, with activity reported against Mycobacterium tuberculosis will be studied to elucidate its mechanism of action using Salmonella as a model of infection, focusing on its effects on the infected host cells.
Funding Agency
Welcome Trust
Programme
ISSF funding
Project Type
Research
Project Title
 Unravelling food derived bioactive peptides with dual functionality of antimicrobial and immunomodulating capabilities
From
2015
To
2019
Summary
In this project we used a computational data-mining and feature based approach to unravel the abundance of unexplored peptides from nature and to identify potent, novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from phyto-proteins. We explored Pisum sativum hydrolysed (PSH) protein and evaluated its potential as a bio-preservative. As the "clean label" revolution takes hold, paired with increased consumer demand for natural products, alternative preserving solutions are needed to maintain food safety and limit spoilage. PSH offers an attractive plant-based solution, capable of reducing disease causing pathogens while being economically viable, and environmentally friendly. Expanding on the potential of the PSH, we identified NuriPep 1653, an individual peptide component of the hydrolysate with remarkable antimicrobial activity. AMPs are an integral part of every species contributing to host defence and have been lauded as contenders in combatting the antibiotic crisis. Despite immense scientific efforts to bring antibiotic alternatives to the market, very few have been approved for market sale as they have yet to surpass the activity of traditional therapies. Paired with the reluctance from the pharmaceutical industry to financially support antimicrobial research, this means that the need for novel antimicrobial compounds has never been greater. We have explored the therapeutic potential of NuriPep 1653 against clinically relevant pathogens and highlighted its appeal for the pharmaceutical sector given its limited propensity for inducing resistance, rapid kill kinetics, non-toxic nature, ability to reverse resistance and synergise with conventional antibiotic therapies. Moreover, NuriPep 1653 reduced the activation of pathways and cytokines associated with pro-inflammatory response indicating its abilities to modulate the host immune response. This vastly expands the therapeutic potential of the peptide. Overall, we were able to use a novel discovery approach to identify AMPs encrypted within phyto-proteins. Through PSH and NuriPep 1653, we hope to expand on the current knowledge related to protein hydrolysates and AMPs and inch closer to providing novel antimicrobial solutions across the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council (IRC)
Programme
Employment based programme
Project Type
Research

Details Date
ESCMID Database of Trusted Reviewers as Research Grant Reviewer of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID). 2014-Present
Reviewer of International Research Grants for the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Grant - Vidi Program of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research; for the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space; and for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Consultant in Research projects funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal, under H2020.
Section Board Member for Biomolecules
Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology
Member of Editorial Board of Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Unilever (consultancy)
Consultant Project Lisbon Nova
Advisory Committee Evaluation Biotec Lisbon
External Examiner for MSc by Research
External examiners PhD students
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Basic Medium
Italian Medium Basic Medium
Portuguese Fluent Fluent Fluent
Spanish Medium Basic Medium
Details Date From Date To
American Society of Microbiology (ASM) 2007
Applied Microbiology International (AMI) (previously known as Society for Applied Microbiology (sfam))2 2011
International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) 2011
European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) 2013
Society for General Microbiology (SGM) 2013
Sociedade Portuguesa de Microbiologia (Portuguese Society of Microbiology) 2006 2010
Quill L, Ferreira D, Joyce B, Coleman G, Harper C, Martins M, Hodkinson T, Trimble D, Gill L and O"Connell DW, n integrated mitigation approach to diffuse agricultural water pollution"a scoping review., Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Friães, S. and Trigueiros, C. and Gomes, C.S.B. and Fernandes, A.R. and Lenis-Rojas, O.A. and Martins, M. and Royo, B., Antimicrobial Activity of Manganese(I) Tricarbonyl Complexes Bearing 1,2,3-Triazole Ligands, Molecules, 28, (21), 2023, Notes: [cited By 0], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Mohan, N.M. and Zorgani, A. and Earley, L. and Chauhan, S. and Trajkovic, S. and Savage, J. and Adelfio, A. and Khaldi, N. and Martins, M., Preservatives from foodâ€"For food: Pea protein hydrolysate as a novel bio-preservative against Escherichia coli O157:H7 on a lettuce leaf, Food Science and Nutrition, 9, (11), 2021, p5946-5958 , Notes: [cited By 14], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Shaban L, Ershova AS, Hamrock FJ, Shaibah A, Sulimani MM, Amin RA, Russell JN, Ravichandran R, Schaffer K, Martins M, Cameron ADS, Kröger C, Draft Genome Sequence and Annotation of Acinetobacter soli AS15, Isolated from an Irish Hospital, Microbiology Resource Announcement, 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Breheny, J. and Kingston, C. and Doran, R. and Anes, J. and Martins, M. and Fanning, S. and Guiry, P.J., Investigation of the anti-methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus activity of (+)-tanikolide-and (+)-malyngolide-based analogues prepared by asymmetric synthesis, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, (12), 2021, Notes: [cited By 1], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Ferreira, D.A. and Martins, L.M.D.R.S. and Fernandes, A.R. and Martins, M., A tale of two ends: Repurposing metallic compounds from anti†tumour agents to effective antibacterial activity, Antibiotics, 9, (6), 2020, p1-14 , Notes: [cited By 4], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Hurley, D. and Hoffmann, M. and Muruvanda, T. and Allard, M.W. and Brown, E.W. and Martins, M. and Fanning, S., Atypical salmonella enterica serovars in murine and human macrophage infection models, Infection and Immunity, 88, (4), 2020, Notes: [cited By 5], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Niamh Mohan, Unravelling a food derived bioactive peptide with dual functionality of antimicrobial and immunomodulatory capabilities, Trinity College Dublin, 2020, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Mohan NM, Zorgani A, Jalowicki G, Kerr A, Khaldi N, Martins M., Unlocking NuriPep 1653 From Common Pea Protein: A Potent Antimicrobial Peptide to Tackle a Pan-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii., Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, (2086), 2019, p1 - 16, Notes: [ https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02086], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
McCusker MP, Ferreira DA, Cooney D, Alves BM, Fanning S, Pagès JM, Martins M*, Davin-Regli A, Modulation of antibiotic resistance in clinical isolates of Enterobacter aerogenes - a strategy combining antibiotics and chemosensitisers, Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 16, 2019, p187 - 198, Notes: [doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2018.10.009], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Award Date
Provost's PhD Award, Trinity College Dublin 2020
Society for General Microbiology Travel Grant 2014
Newman Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Food Safety; Vétoquinol SA 2013-2015
Short Term Scientific Mission grant, COST scientific programme on Antibiotic Transport and Efflux: New Strategies to combat bacterial resistance (ATENS). 2009
ASM Student and Post Doctoral Fellow Travel Grant. 2007
PhD fellowship grant awarded by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal. 2004-2008
Key Research Direction My research programme is centred on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria of public health importance, integrating infection biology with classical microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, and functional genomics. My research addresses the way bacteria adapt to certain environments and respond to the stresses encountered, focusing on the bacteria physiological and molecular mechanisms. Two main strands anchor this work: (1) efflux pump biology and inhibition " elucidating how efflux systems (e.g., in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) drive multidrug resistance, and testing chemosensitisers/repurposed drugs (e.g., thioridazine) to restore antibiotic susceptibility; and (2) host"pathogen interactions and immunomodulation, particularly macrophage infection models using Salmonella and other bacteria to understand how intracellular pathogens evade immune clearance. A more recent, translational strand explores novel antimicrobial peptides from natural/food sources (e.g., pea-protein-derived peptides) as bio-preservatives and therapeutics against pan-drug-resistant bacteria. Overall, I am interested in the development of alternative therapies to treat multidrug resistant infections (such as Tuberculosis, Pneumoniae) with a translational aspect into clinical practice. Considering that AMR is one of the main public health issues at a global level, my research adds to this area considering new approaches to treatment and the discovery and development of new antimicrobials with impact at a global level. Aspects Supporting Promotion to Associate Professor Since the start of my academic career that I have demonstrated a sustained, coherent research trajectory. This was translated into a clear throughline from mechanistic efflux/resistance work (Lisbon, UCD) to my completely independent programme at Trinity, showing intellectual leadership rather than fragmented interests. I also present a strong scholarly output and impact with approx.. 124 publications that include journal articles, reviews, conference papers/posters, and theses. Papers published to date have 7227 citations (Google Scholar), indicating recognition in the field. I have secured a competitive funding track record securing an ISSF (Wellcome Trust) start-up award as an independent investigator as well as SFI (Nutrecs Project) and several internal programme awards in TCD (Kinsella, Pendergast). Adding to this, I was also awarded a PhD Provost Award in 2020, which I was very proud of. I have also supervised numerous PhD and MSc students to a successful completion of their theses. In parallel, I have always worked towards translational research and industry relevance. This has been clearly demonstrated through the years with collaborations with Unilever (UK), Vetoquinol (France) in AMR resistance and new antibiotics; Nuritas Ltd. on peptide-based antimicrobials and with Third-Eye Inventions on sequencing technologies to characterise the microbiome of hospital settings, demonstrating applied impact beyond academic publication. Through my academic journey I have strengthen links with international and interdisciplinary collaboration, through co-authorship spanning Ireland, Portugal, France (Pagès, Davin-Regli), UK and the US (FDA/Brown, Allard), reflecting a well-networked, globally engaged programme. Overall, I believe that all these aspects have culminated in a Leadership role with my current position as Head of Discipline in Microbiology, evidencing departmental and institutional leadership that is expected at Associate Professor level.