Dr. Greg Martin
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Research Area
Dr. Greg Martin studies the mechanisms by which antibodies neutralize malaria parasites by using biochemical and computational tools to translate these data into improved malaria vaccines and antibody therapeutics. The Martin group uses cyro-electron microscopy to elucidate atomic structures of antibodies in complex with malaria parasite proteins. They also use AI-powered tools of protein design to develop improved vaccine antigens.
Origins
Early in his PhD training, Dr. Martin started using cyro-EM for protein structure in order to understand ion channels. During his postdoc, he applied this approach to infectious disease. After joining a large cyro-EM lab at Scripps Research, he was given a malaria vaccine project. “I became fascinated with the malaria parasite and how they interact with the human immune system,” Dr. Martin says. “I also quickly came to believe in the mission of developing an effective and low-cost malaria vaccine, which could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.”
Funding
- Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust grant for “Structure-Based Design of Improved Vaccine Antigens for Malaria Parasite Plasmodium vivax”
- Medicines for Malaria Venture grant for “Development of Novel Antibody-Fragment Drugs Targeting the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum”
Publications
- “Structural Basis of Epitope Selectivity and Potent Protection from Malaria by PfCS Antibody L9,” Nature Communications, 2023
- “Affinity-Matured Homotypic Interactions Induce Spectrum of PfCSP Structures that Influence Protection from Malaria Infection,” Nature Communiations. 2023
- “Broadly Inhibitory Antibodies to Severe Malaria Virulence Proteins,” Nature, 2024
- “Deep Learning-Enabled Scaffolding of Spatial Arrays of PfCSP Epitopes,” Biophysics and Computational Biology, 2026
Results
This research has obtained an atomic-resolution structure of a key malaria vaccine antigen called DBP in complex with three highly potent human antibodies isolated from a clinical trial of a DBP vaccine. This has revealed the mechanisms by which these antibodies neutralize the parasite and prevent infection. The Martin group is also using this atomic model to design improved DBP vaccine antigens with advanced protein design software.
“While our research is directed towards human malaria, the approaches we use can easily be translated for animal vaccine and antibody development,” Martin says.
Research Team
Greg Martin
PhD Students: Simran Kaur & Philip Babatunde
Postdoctral Associates: Nasansala Vithanage & Grant Cooling
Undergraduate Students: Marah Hansen
Collaborations: Oxford University, Harvard University, The Scripps Research Institute, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Washington
September 2026