John R. Martin, Ph.D., attended Los Angeles Pierce Junior College in Woodland Hills, CA, from 1970 to 1972.  In 1972 he transferred to the Davis campus of the University of California where he earned a B.S. degree in Animal Physiology graduating with Highest Honors in 1975.  Having his interest in drug action piqued by the use of pharmacological agents in the physiology teaching laboratories offered at UCD, Dr. Martin moved on to the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy, Stockton, CA, earning an M.S. degree in 1979 in Pharmaceutical Sciences with an emphasis in pharmacology.  From UOP Dr. Martin moved on to the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis campus, where he earned a Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology graduating in 1985.  In February of 1985 Dr. Martin began postdoctoral work in the Department of Pharmacology of the St. Louis University School of Medicine.  From 1986 to 1988 Dr. Martin was a postdoctoral fellow of the Missouri Affiliate of the American Heart Association.  In 1988 Dr. Martin accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology in the Department of Pharmacology of the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he has remained being promoted to an Associate Professor in 1993 and a Professor in 2005.

Dr. Martin is interested in the regulation of the cardiovascular system by specific regions of the brain thought or known to be involved in the control of blood pressure.  Dr. Martin’s present research is focused on the anterior and posterior hypothalamic nuclei, and the influence the anterior has on the posterior hypothalamic nucleus, especially with respect to the release of acetylcholine from terminals of neurons that originate in the anterior and terminate in the posterior hypothalamic nucleus.  This cholinergic pathway can be stimulated by the microinjection of serotonin 2A/2C receptor agonists into the anterior hypothalamic nucleus.  The effect that cannabinoids and endocannabinoids, including the subtype of cannabinoid receptors involved, have on the release of acetylcholine from cholinergic nerve terminals within the posterior hypothalamic nucleus and the action of acetylcholine on postsynaptic neurons is being studied as a means by which to further our understanding of the mechanism of action of cannabinoids at the cellular level within the central nervous system while simultaneously determining the effects of these interactions on the systemic function of the cardiovascular system.  A related research interest involves determining the role that pancreatic polypeptides, in particular neuropeptide Y (NPY) and PYY, have on the mechanisms that are activated by the stimulation of the posterior hypothalamic cholinergic system.  This includes the cardiovascular responses resulting from interactions between these neuropeptides and acetylcholine on second messengers, specifically cAMP and IP_3, and the effect that these interactions ultimately have on the cardiovascular system.  As part of this understanding, the receptor subtypes involved in these interactions are being pharmacologically identified.  In addition, the influence that the posterior hypothalamic nucleus exerts on the baroreceptor reflex and on responses to pathophysiological conditions, such as hemorrhage, is being determined.  Dr. Martin’s laboratory is also interested in the potential neuroprotective effect that cannabinoids have on the central nervous system following an ischemic event and reperfusion of the infracted area.