Isabel Martinez-Pena y Valenzuela, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Physiology
- Assistant ProfessorPhysiology
- 630-515-6387
BIO
Isabel Martinez-Pena y Valenzuela, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology at Midwestern University.
Dr. Martinez-Pena graduated in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of La Laguna (ULL), Spain, before moving to the Anatomy, Pathology, and Histology Department at the School of Medicine, graduating with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She started her post-doctorate training in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department at the University of Michigan in 2004. She was appointed to a Visiting Assistant Professorship at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, in 2020.
Her research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of chronic skeletal muscle degeneration, with a specific focus on the neuromuscular junction as the critical structure that regulates the communication between myofibers and motor neurons.
Dr. Martinez-Pena also enjoys being an educator for professional students in the medical and biomedical sciences.
Dr. Martinez-Pena graduated in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of La Laguna (ULL), Spain, before moving to the Anatomy, Pathology, and Histology Department at the School of Medicine, graduating with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She started her post-doctorate training in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Department at the University of Michigan in 2004. She was appointed to a Visiting Assistant Professorship at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, in 2020.
Her research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of chronic skeletal muscle degeneration, with a specific focus on the neuromuscular junction as the critical structure that regulates the communication between myofibers and motor neurons.
Dr. Martinez-Pena also enjoys being an educator for professional students in the medical and biomedical sciences.
MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS
- Assistant ProfessorCollege of Graduate Studies - Illinois
- Assistant ProfessorCollege of Dental Medicine-Illinois
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Visiting Assistant ProfessorKalamazoo College, Biology, Kalamazoo, United States1 Jun 2020 - 1 Jun 2022
- TreasurerChicago Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, United StatesSep 2025 - present
DEGREES
- Ph.D.University of La Laguna, Spain, USA
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING
- Postdoctoral trainingUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Ann Arbor, United States23 Apr 2004 - 31 Jul 2009NeurosciencePostdoctoral Fellowship
- Lab SpecialistUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Ann Arbor, United States31 Aug 2009 - 31 May 2020Other
LANGUAGES
- Spanish; CastilianCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
- EnglishCan read, write, speak, understand and peer review
CAMPUS
- Downers Grove