Fernando Martinez

Professor, Pediatrics

Director, Asthma / Airway Disease Research Center

Endowed Chair, Swift - McNear

Regents Professor

Professor, Genetics - GIDP

Professor, BIO5 Institute

Primary Department

Asthma & Airway Disease Research Center

Department Affiliations

Asthma & Airway Disease Research Center

BIO5 Institute

Contact

(520) 626-5954

fdmartin@arizona.edu

Research Interest

Dr. Fernando D. Martinez is a Regents’ Professor and Director of the Asthma & Airway Disease Research Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Dr. Martinez is a world-renowned expert, and one of the most highly regarded researchers, in the field of childhood asthma. His primary research interests are the natural history, genetics, and treatment of childhood asthma. His groundbreaking research has had an impact on his field in numerous ways, most prominent among them the development of the concept of the early origins of asthma and COPD. This concept is now widely accepted as the potential basis for the design of new strategies for the prevention of these devastating illnesses affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. In addition, Dr. Martinez has made important contributions to our understanding of the role of gene-environment interactions in the development of asthma and allergies. He has also been the principal investigator of one of the Clinical Centers that are part of the NHLBI Asthma Treatment Networks, which have contributed fundamental new evidence on which to base national guidelines for the treatment of the disease. Dr. Martinez currently serves on national scientific boards including the NHLBI National Advisory Council and the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. He was a member of the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program that was responsible for the development of the Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma in 1997 and its first revision in 2001. He also has been a member of the FDA Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee and the Board of Extramural Advisors of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Dr. Martinez’s research and vision are well detailed in more than 250 original research papers and editorials, many in collaboration with investigators from all over the world. He is frequently invited to give keynote presentations at national and international meetings.

Publications

Spatial clusters of child lower respiratory illnesses associated with community-level risk factors

Beamer, P. I., Lothrop, N., Lu, Z., Ascher, R., Ernst, K., Stern, D. A., Billheimer, D., Wright, A. L., & Martinez, F. D. (2015). Spatial clusters of child lower respiratory illnesses associated with community-level risk factors. Pediatric pulmonology.

Identifying geographic areas with increased incidence of disease may elucidate community-level risk factors for intervention development. Lower respiratory illnesses (LRIs) are the leading cause of death in children and are associated with other morbidities. We assessed geographic clustering of LRIs and evaluated if these spatial patterns and associated risk factors differed by phenotype. Participants enrolled at birth in the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study were followed through age three for physician diagnosed LRIs. Spatial clustering analysis, based upon each participant's birth address, was performed for four LRI phenotypes. We conducted principal component analysis at the census tract level to generate indices for lower socioeconomic status (SES), poorer housing conditions, and increased air pollution. Enrollment addresses were mapped for 812 subjects, of whom 58.4%, 33.5%, 34.2%, and 23.4% had any LRI, a wheezing LRI, a viral LRI, and a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) LRI, respectively. Patterns of spatial clustering and associated risk factors differed by LRI phenotype. Multivariable regression analyses showed that wheezing LRI clusters were associated with increased air pollution (OR = 1.18, P = 0.01). Being in a viral cluster was associated with poorer housing conditions (OR = 1.28, P = 0.01), while being in a RSV cluster was associated with increased air pollution (OR = 1.14, P = 0.006), poorer housing conditions (OR = 1.54, P = 0.003), and higher SES (OR = 0.77, P = 0.001). Our use of social and environmental indices allowed us to identify broad contextual factors that may contribute to increased incidence of LRIs in specific geographic regions. To reduce LRI incidence, multifaceted interventions should be developed at the community level. Pediatr Pulmonol. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gene Expression Profiling in Blood Provides Reproducible Molecular Insights into Asthma Control

Croteau-Chonka, D. C., Qiu, W., Martinez, F. D., Strunk, R. C., Lemanske, R. F., Liu, A. H., Gilliland, F. D., Millstein, J., Gauderman, W. J., Ober, C., Krishnan, J. A., White, S. R., Naureckas, E. T., Nicolae, D. L., Barnes, K. C., London, S. J., Barraza-Villarreal, A., Carey, V. J., Weiss, S. T., , Raby, B. A., et al. (2017). Gene Expression Profiling in Blood Provides Reproducible Molecular Insights into Asthma Control. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 195(2), 179-188.

Maintaining optimal symptom control remains the primary objective of asthma treatment. Better understanding of the biologic underpinnings of asthma control may lead to the development of improved clinical and pharmaceutical approaches.

Fernando Martinez