Lorraine Martin is a Professor of Biomolecular Sciences within the School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast. She holds a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry and a Masters in Clinical Laboratory Medicine. Her research interests are focussed on the role of active proteases as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in chronic airway diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where aberrant activities due to a protease-antiprotease imbalance contribute to a vicious cycle of inflammation and impaired innate immunity. In this regard, the Martin Group at Queen’s have led a programme targeting proteases involved in the dysregulation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), which leads to airways dehydration and mucus obstruction (Reihill et al, 2016, AJRCCM; Douglas et al, 2022 Cell Chem Biol; Douglas et al, 2024 ERJOR). In terms of a therapeutic strategy, inhibition of ENaC has the potential to rehydrate the airways to restore normal mucociliary clearance which would protect the airways from infection and irreversible tissue damage, stalling disease progression (Douglas et al, 2023 Eur Respir Rev).

Other recent achievements include a major interdisciplinary, collaborative, cross-border, €8.9M, 5-year project called BREATH (2017-22), whose goal was to build significant research capacity in COPD. BREATH stands for the Border and REgions Airways Training Hub and was funded by the INTERREG Va programme, managed by SEUPB (Special European Union Programmes Body). BREATH won the NI Healthcare Asthma/COPD Project of the Year Award (2018) and the QUB Vice-Chancellor's Excellence in Research Culture Prize (2020). Lorraine has also published >130 research publications and holds four patents. She has generated over £11M in research grant income to include BBSRC, MRC, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Trust, the CF Foundation, USA, and Emily’s Entourage, USA and has productive research collaborations with UK industry and global pharma. She also has significant experience in entrepreneurship and innovation and was co-founder/CEO of QUB spin-out, ProAxsis Ltd. for which she won the INVENT competition (Catalyst Inc) (2013) and the Vice Chancellor's Prize for Research Impact (2016). She is a scientific advisor for several Irish and US-based companies, is the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lead on the Queen’s Gender Initiative (QGI) Executive Committee, a Catalyst Role Model and sits on the University’s Research Innovation Committee. She also chairs the Post-doctoral Research Oversight Group. Within the School of Pharmacy, she is the Programme Director for the BSc in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.