"The real reward for me has been to get to know such a talented and hardworking group of students. They are going to do great things, and it has been a privilege to play a role in their professional development, no matter how small."
The 2022 Craig Award winner, Jeremy Martinson, is an assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (IDM), where he has been on the faculty since 2002. He serves as the vice chair for research and as program director of the Master of Public Health degree, with a concentration in infectious disease pathogenesis, eradication and laboratory practice. He is also mentor for IDM’s journal club.
Students who nominated Dr. Martinson for the 2022 Craig Award shared these words about him:
“As my research advisor and one of my professors, Dr. Martinson has fostered a welcoming and exciting environment in the classroom and the research lab. He has increased my knowledge on a variety of different genetic subjects regarding infectious diseases. The lectures he prepares are enticing. He adds a sense of humor relatable to students to keep us engaged and make learning new material fun as well as making it easier to remember. The excitement he brings while lecturing or in the lab creates the same effect on students, me included, and leaves us eager to learn more.”
“As a mentor, Dr. Martinson is extremely friendly and personable. He shows a genuine interest and cares for the well-being of students, and someone can talk to him about anything school or life-related. He is extremely knowledgeable in the field and has shown me countless techniques in the lab setting and takes the time to ensure I am comfortable applying them. He offers a great deal of praise when applicable and is always eager to fix unruly results through troubleshooting. His determination is quite unmatched, and I look up to him in many ways.”
Dr. Martinson received his doctoral degree from Oxford University in the United Kingdom. His laboratory work focuses on the molecular processes that generate genetic variation, and how these variations impact health. He applies genomic and transcriptomic approaches to studying susceptibility and resistance to disease, and to demonstrating how infectious diseases act as a force in shaping the human genome.
He is course director for Genes, Cells, and Populations: Introduction to Public Health Biology, as well as course director and primary instructor for Public Health Biology, Essentials of Public Health, Pathogen Biology and Functional Genomics of Microbial Pathogens. He also has instructed several other courses within IDM in his many years within the department.
8/03/2022