Martin, Stephen

Stephen Martin is a Discovery Fellow in Systems Medicine, with research interests aligned with the School of Medicine’s Neuroscience research theme. He completed a PhD in Neuroscience and postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh before joining the University of Dundee in 2013, first as manager of the newly created Behavioural Neuroscience Core Facility, and subsequently as a Discovery Fellow.

Stephen makes regular contributions to Biomedical Science BSc and Neuropharmacology and Behaviour BMSc teaching and research-project supervision. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Stephen’s research focusses on the behavioural neuroscience and physiology of rodent cognition, with an emphasis on the cellular and synaptic mechanisms that regulate the storage of memories and their underlying changes in synaptic strength. He is currently using electrophysiological techniques to study the formation of associative memories that link environmental cues or actions with information about reward. This work is relevant to the mechanisms of both natural reward-based learning, as well as the processes underlying drug addiction and mood disorders.