Fellow Spotlight: Martin Dominguez, MD

Dr. Martin Dominguez was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Indianapolis. He enjoyed science in high school, developing a deep curiosity about how the body works that spurred him to earn a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from Yale, where he also earned a medical degree and a PhD in neurobiology. His doctoral research focused on the development of the cerebral cortex.

As an internal medicine resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Dominguez’s favorite rotations were caring for patients in the critical care unit. He developed a fascination with hemodynamics, the fluid dynamics of blood flow. He decided to come to UCSF for cardiology fellowship in part because of the wealth of research opportunities and mentors at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute.

So far, he has appreciated the steep learning curve as a fellow. “Every day, I learn something I didn’t know before, and get to use it to help somebody out,” said Dr. Dominguez. “As we get more comfortable, we’re also starting to build trust and the ability to make decisions we feel confident about.”

Dr. Dominguez looks forward to getting back to laboratory research, and may explore ways to apply his previous investigations of brain development to research about how the heart develops. He hopes to become a physician-scientist, combining a career that includes caring for patients as well as basic research. His outside interests include writing music, exploring new restaurants and spending time outdoors.