Martha Somerman


Martha J. Somerman is an internationally known researcher and educator in Medicine, focusing on defining the key regulators controllling development, maintenance, and regeneration of dental, oral, and craniofacial tissues. She is currently Chief Lab of Laboratory of Oral Connective Tissue Biology at NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a part of the National Institutes of Health located in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Early life and education

Martha J. Somerman was born on March 13, 1947, in Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A. Martha Somerman gained a Bachelor of Arts from New York University, Master of Science from Hunter College, Doctor of Dental Surgery from New York University, and a PhD from the University of Rochester.

Research and Career

Her career at the University of Michigan started in 1991. She was Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Periodontics/Prevention/Geriatrics at the Michigan Dental School and Associate Professor for the Department of Pharmacology at the Michigan Medical School until 1995. Afterwards she became Professor and Chair of the PPG Department and Professor for the Department of Pharmacology until 2000. She was then Associate Dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Washington, a position she held for two years and became Dean in 2002. In 2011, she was appointed the Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Somerman has more than 190 peer-review publications with over 8,000 citations and she has contributed to 20 books or book chapters.

Awards and honours

She has received numerous honors and awards throughout her academic career.