Research Trainee Spotlight: Alice Martino, MD
“I remember learning about regenerative medicine when I was a high school student,” Alice Martino, MD, shares. “I was fascinated by the potential of stem cells to cure disease.”
Today, Dr. Martino is a general surgery resident at UC Irvine and hopes to become a pediatric surgeon at an academic medical center. But her passion for stem cell therapies continues in her research at CHLA.
A Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Mark Frey, PhD, at CHLA, she is working with the team on developing an “off-the-shelf” stem cell therapy that could treat babies born with a rare intestinal disorder called Hirschsprung’s disease.
Babies with Hirschsprung’s are missing certain key nerve cells in their intestinal walls, which can lead to life-threatening bowel obstructions.
“Currently, these children are treated by removing the affected portion of their intestines,” Dr. Martino explains. “But we are investigating a way to use stem cells to repopulate these enteric nerves and restore bowel function, without having to do surgery.”
She adds that the research is also shedding light on the behavior of enteric neural crest cells. These cells form the enteric nervous system, which controls the digestive tract.
Outside of work, you’ll find Dr. Martino with her husband and 8-month-old son. She also loves to hike, go to the beach and engage in an activity she has enjoyed since childhood: figure skating.
