Hi, I'm Dr. Chantel Martin
I study how the places we live, grow, work, and play get under the skin to shape our health.
Epidemiology found me
I didn't start out in public health — I earned my degree in finance with a minor in economics. Then a post-bac class introduced me to public health, and everything clicked: epidemiology married my curiosity about why communities experience health so differently with my lifelong love of math and numbers. I've been asking those questions with data ever since — and I still can't imagine doing anything else.
More about my journey →
Ways we can work together
Whether you're planning an event, building a study, or growing as a scientist — here's how I show up.
Research
I lead studies on epigenetics, cardiometabolic health, and healthy aging across the life course — tracing how social and environmental stressors become biology.
Speaking & Consulting
From keynotes to workshops, I translate complex science into stories people carry home — and I partner with organizations making health equity real.
Mentorship & Collaboration
I invest in the next generation of scientists and build cross-disciplinary teams — because these questions are too big for any one of us alone.
Science in service of community
My work is committed to communities disproportionately impacted by structural inequities — particularly Black communities. By understanding how neighborhood conditions, segregation, and environmental stressors get under the skin, I aim to build the evidence for earlier, more equitable prevention strategies and policies that let every community thrive.
Featured talks
Invite me to speakEmbodiment of Place: How Neighborhoods Get Under the Skin
Invited seminar · NC State Toxicology Program
Social Epigenetics and the Roots of Health Inequities
Annual Review of Public Health authors series
Translating Life Course Science into Equitable Policy
Community & public health partners
In the media
Research on early-life disadvantage and Black women's mental health covered in national outlets
“Understanding Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Social Epigenetics” — Annual Review of Public Health
Highlighting inequities in treatment of postpartum depressive symptoms
Honors & awards
ASPPH award for research excellence
K99/R00 Pathways to Independence Award, NIMHD
Faculty Fellow, Carolina Population Center