Jennifer Martin

Professor Jennifer Martin, AC is an internationally renowned protein crystallographer and structural biologist, whose significant contributions to these fields and advocacy in the area of gender equality in STEMM has recently seen her awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia. A founding member of the SAGE Steering Committee, that established the Athena SWAN pilot program, Jennifer was the Director of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery at Griffith University when interviewed. She has recently been recruited to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the University of Wollongong. Jennifer is also the current President of the Asian Crystallographic Association and a member of the International Union of Crystallography Executive Committee, an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Engaged with questions of antibiotic resistance and the possibilities of disabling rather than killing bacteria, Jennifer’s work is of critical significance internationally, as the antibiotics developed in the 1940s are increasingly unable to effectively treat infections caused by pathogenic superbugs.
 
In the podcast, Jennifer reflects on her career successes, attributing much of this success to the networks and relationships she has cultivated throughout her career. Jennifer also explains the importance of knowing yourself and your own needs in the podcast, in order to use your time and energy most effectively. Acknowledging that gender inequality continues in the academy, in the video Jennifer offers an explanation as to why this inequality is so entrenched; she also explains her strategies for exerting influence in order to effect change.