Cindy M. Martin, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Lillehei Heart Institute Stem Cell Flow Facility
Co-Director, Adult Congenital and Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic

Born in Ashland, Louisiana, Dr. Cindy Martin graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry. She received her M.D. from Louisiana State University School of Medicine. Dr. Martin then received her Internal Medicine Residency Training at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Following her residency training, she pursued a formal three-year postdoctoral fellowship in molecular cardiology in Dr. Daniel J. Garry’s laboratory. After completing additional fellowships in general cardiology and advanced heart failure and transplantation at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Martin joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Cardiovascular Division. Her practice primarily focuses on patients with advanced heart failure however Dr. Martin is also interested in adult patients with congenital or inherited cardiovascular disease. Since joining the faculty of the University of Minnesota Cardiovascular Division, Dr. Martin in conjunction with pediatric cardiologists Dr. Jamie Lohr and Dr. Lee Pyles has established the Adult Congenital and Cardiovascular Genetics clinic here at the University of Minnesota. The clinic is designed to meet the growing needs of late teen and adult patients with congenital heart disease and genetic or acquired conditions which may affect the heart including Marfan Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy and cardiomyopathies. Dr. Martin hopes that the clinic will be able to provide a smooth transition for patients in their late teens from a pediatric cardiologist into lifelong cardiology care. The clinic will also provide opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research projects aimed at improving the health and quality of life of patients with congenital heart disease, as well as understanding the genetic causes and risk factors associated with these conditions.

Honors and Awards
Alpha Omega Alpha
Diplomat in Internal Medicine granted by American Board of Internal Medicine
AstraZeneca Young Investigator Award
Poster Award, Weinstein Cardiovascular Development Conference
GlaxoSmithKline International Young Investigators Award
Matthew Gregory Frank Memorial Award
Keystone Symposia Scholarship
Diplomat in Cardiology granted by American Board of Internal Medicine
Bacaner Research Award in Basic Medical Sciences

Professional Organizations
American Heart Association
American College of Cardiology
Adult Congenital Heart Association
International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation
International Society for Cardiovascular Translational Research

Research Interests
Dr. Martin’s basic science research interests focus on stem cell biology, early cardiac progenitors including SP (side population) cells, their role in cardiovascular development and regeneration. Her lab focuses on a persistent stem cell, the SP cell, population within the adult heart. She has defined a molecular marker for this unique cell population, Abcg2 (an ATP-binding cassette half-transporter). She has demonstrated that the Abcg2 expresing cardiac SP cell population can proliferate, differentiate and is capable of participating in myocardial regeneration. She has also shown that Hif-2α is a direct upstream regulator of the Abcg2 gene which functions as a cytoprotective factor for the cardiac SP cell population. As a significant percentage of her clinical time is now spent caring for adults with congenital heart disease who have developed heart failure she continues to focus on the transcriptional regulation of cardiac progenitor cell populations including defining the transcriptional regulation of the Nkx2-5 expressing cells. Dr. Martin has idenitified several downstream target genes of Nkx2-5 including Cripto (Tdgf1) which is the focus of her current studies. She has confirmed that Cripto is an authentic direct downstream target of Nkx2-5 using multiple molecular biological techniques and is exploring the role of Nkx2-5 and Cripto in the left-right patterning during early cardiac development.

Selected Publications (2005-2009)

1. Garry, D.J., A. Masino, R.H. Naseem, C. M. Martin, Ponce de Leon’s fountain: stem cells and the regenerating heart. (2005) Am J Med Sci. Apr;329(4):190-201.

2. Goetsch, S., C. M. Martin, Embree L.J. and D.J. Garry. Myogenic progenitor cells express filamin C in developing and regenerating skeletal muscle. (2005) Stem Cells Dev. Apr;14(2):181-7.

3. Martin, C. M., Russell. J. L., Ferdous, A., and Garry, D. J. Molecular signatures define myogenic stem cell population. (2006) Stem Cell Rev. Vol 2: 37-42.

4. Hawke T.J., Kanatous S.B., Martin C.M., Goetsch S.C., Garry D.J., Rad is temporally regulated within myogenic progenitor cells during skeletal muscle regeneration. (2006) Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. Feb: 290(2):C379-87. Epub 2005, Oct 12.

5. Cindy M. Martin, Anwarul Ferdous, Teresa Gallardo, Caroline Humphries, Hesham Sadek, Arianna Caprioli, Joseph Garcia, Mary G. Garry, and Daniel J. Garry. HIF-2α transactivates Abcg2 and promotes cyroprotection in cardiac SP cells. (2008) Circ Res. May 9; 102 (9): 1075-81. Epub 2008, Mar 20.

6. Cindy M. Martin. Review of Stem Cell Based Therapy for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease. (2008) Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research. June: 1(2):106-114. /p>

7. Kanatous SB, Mammen PP, Rosenberg PB, Martin CM, White MD, Dimaio JM, Huang G, Muallem S, Garry DJ. Hypoxia reprograms calcium signaling and regulates myoglobin expression. (2008) Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. Nov 12. [Epub ahead of print]./p>

8. Anwarul Ferdous, Arianna Caprioli, Michelina Iacovino, Cindy Martin, Jesse Morris, James Richardson, Shuaib Latif, Robert Hammer, Richard Harvey, Eric Olson, Daniel Garry. Nkx2-5 transactivates the Ets-related protein 71 gene and specifies an endothelial/endocardial fate in the developing embryo. (2009) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Jan 20;106(3):814-9. Epub 2009 Jan 7.

9. Crow S, John R, Boyle A, Shumway S, Liao K, Colvin-Adams M, Toninato C, Missov E, Pritzker M, Martin C, Garry D, Thomas W, Joyce L. Gastrointestinal bleeding rates in recipients of nonpulsatile and pulsatile left ventricular assist devices. (2009) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. Jan;137(1):208-15. Epub 2008 Oct 10.

10. Cindy M. Martin*, Hesham A. Sadek*, Shuaib Latif, Sean Goetsch, Mary G. Garry, and Daniel J. Garry. Bone Marrow Derived Side Population Cells for Myocardial Regeneration. (2009) Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research. June: 2(2):173–181.