Dr. Daniel Martínez Martínez
I am a systems biologist with experience in computational biology, bioinformatics, microbiology, ecology and evolution. I am a lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Hertfordshire (UK).Previously I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) & Imperial College London, UK under the supervision of Prof. Filipe Cabreiro, where I studied the role of the microbiome in host health and ageing, using model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans, Escherichia coli and others.
I am particularly interested in understanding how microbial population genetics and community dynamics influence microbial communities and what’s their impact on host health and disease. My research combines experimental and computational approaches to investigate the complex interactions between microbes and their hosts, with a focus on the gut microbiome.
News:
2026-02-02: After more than 7 years in Prof. Filipe Cabreiro’s lab, I have started a new position as a lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Hertfordshire (UK). I am excited to start this new chapter in my career, where I will continue to explore the fascinating world of microbiology and its impact on health and disease.
2026-01-15: I have published a pre-print of a research article about how navigating the E. coli pangenome functional landscape can help us understand microbial and host phenotypes. Check it out here!
2025-09-17: Our new paper on the discovery of a bacterial metabolite affecting cancer progression and chemotherapy efficacy has been published in Cell Systems. Check it out here!
2025-01-24: I have been to The Festival of Genomics & Biodata 2025 in London, UK, where I presented a poster on our recent work on a metabolite produced by microbiome bugs such as E. coli that modulates chemotherapy efficacy.
Publications
(DOI links should be clickable)
[14] Martinez-Martinez D*†, Aprodu A, Backes C, Ottens F, Zecic A, Doherty H, Widder J, Andrew I, Game L, Kaneva I, Roumellioti G, Montoya A, Kramer H, Hoppe T, Cabreiro F (2026). A protein language model unveils the E. coli pangenome functional landscape regulating host proteostasis. bioRxiv. DOI: 10.64898/2026.01.15.699719
[13] Martinez-Martinez D*, Peres TV, Gehling K, Quintaneiro L, Cabrera C, Cherevatenko M, Cutty SJ, Best L, Marinos G, Zimmerman J, Safoor A, Chrysostomou D, Mokochinsky JB, Montoya A, Brodesser S, Zatorska M, Scott T, Andrew I, Kramer H, Begum M, Zhang B, Golding BT, Marchesi JR, Hirabayashi S, Kaleta C, Barr AR, Frezza C, Cochemé HM, Cabreiro F (2025). Chemotherapy Modulation by a Cancer-Associated Microbiota Metabolite. Cell Systems 16:101397. DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2025.101397
[12] Mulkeen S., Saha S, Ferrara C, Bibeva V, Wood M, K Bai J, Peres T, Martinez-Martinez D, Montoya A, Shliaha P, Cabreiro F, Montrose D (2025). Reducing Dietary Protein Enhances the Antitumor Effects of Chemotherapy through Immune-Mediated Mechanisms. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 24:1099-1110. DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-24-0545
[11] Martinez-Miguel VE, Lujan C, Espie-Caullet T, Martinez-Martinez D, Moore S, Backes C, Gonzalez S, Galimov E, Brown A, Halic M, Tomita K, Rallis C, von der Harr T, Cabreiro F, Bjedov I. (2021). Increased fidelity of protein synthesis extends lifespan. Cell Metabolism 33:2288-2300. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.08.017
[10] Ceci A, Munoz-Ballester C, Tegge A, Brown L, Umans RA, Michel FM, Patel D, Tewari B, Martin J, Alcoreza O, Maynard T, Martinez-Martinez D, Bordwine P, Bissell N, Friedlander M, Sontheimer H, Finkielstein CV. (2021). Development and Implementation of a scalable and versatile test for COVID-19 diagnostics in rural communities. Nature Communications 12:6331. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24552-4
[9] Martinez-Martinez D*, Backes C, Cabreiro F. 2021. *C. elegans: A biosensor for host–microbe interactions. Nature Lab Animal 50:127-135. DOI: 10.1038/s41684-021-00724-z
[8] Liu Y, Martinez-Martinez D, Essmann C, Cruz MR, Cabreiro F, Garsin DA. (2021). Transcriptome analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans lacking heme peroxidase SKPO-1 reveals an altered response to Enterococcus faecalis. G3 11:jkaa055. DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkaa055
[7] Essmann C, Martinez-Martinez D, Pryor R, Leung K, Krishnan KB, Lui PP, Greene N, Brown A, Pawar V, Srinivasan M, Cabreiro F. (2020). Mechanical properties measured by atomic force microscopy define health biomarkers in ageing C. elegans. Nature Communications 11:1043. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14785-0
[6] Pryor R, Martinez-Martinez D*, Quintaneiro L, Cabreiro F. (2019). The role of the microbiome in drug response. *Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology 60:417-435. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010919-023612
[5] Pryor R, Norvaisas P, Marinos G, Best L, Thingholm LB, Quintaneiro L, De Haes W, Esser D, Waschina S, Lujan C, Smith RL, Scott TA, Martinez-Martinez D, Woodward O, Bryson K, Laudes M, Lieb W, Houtkooper RH, Franke A, Temmerman L, Bjedov I, Cochemé HC, Kaleta C, Cabreiro F. (2019). Host-microbe-drug-nutrient screen identifies bacterial effectors of metformin therapy. Cell 176:1299-1312. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.003
[4] Martinez-Martinez D*, Dzunkova M, Gardlík R, Behuliak M, Jansakova K, Jiménez N, Vázquez-Castellanos JF, Martí JM, D’Auria G, Bandara HMHN, Latorre A, Celec P, Moya A. (2018). Oxidative stress in the oral cavity is driven by individual-specific bacterial communities. *NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes 4:29. DOI: 10.1038/s41522-018-0072-3
[3] Martinez-Martinez D*, Dinleyici EC, Kara A, Karbuz A, Dalgic N, Metin O, Yazar AS, Guven S, Kurugol Z, Turel O, Kucukkoc M, Yasa O, Eren M, Ozen M, Martí JM, Garay CP, Vandenplas Y, Moya A. (2018). Time series analysis of the microbiota of children suffering from acute infectious diarrhea and their recovery after probiotic treatment. *Frontiers in Microbiology 9:1230. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01230
[2] Martinez-Martinez D*, Martí JM, Rubio T, Gracia C, Penya M, Latorre A, Moya A, P. Garay C. (2017). Health and Disease Imprinted in the Time Variability of the Human Microbiome. *mSystems 2:e00144-16. DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00144-16
[1] Martinez-Martinez D*, Rossi M, Amaretti A, Ulrici A, Raimondi S, Moya A. (2016). Mining metagenomic whole genome sequences revealed subdominant but constant *Lactobacillus population in the human gut microbiota. Environmental Microbiology Reports 8:399-406. DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12405
* Equal contribution
† Corresponding author