Jo Martin

About Jo Martin

Jo is currently President of the Royal College of Pathologists, Professor of Pathology at Queen Mary University of London, and Director of Academic Health Sciences and an honorary consultant at Barts Health NHS Trust.

She is a histopathologist who specializes in neuromuscular disease of the gut and in renal pathology – and, in addition to her scientific and medical qualifications, she also holds a Master’s degree in leadership. She has had a bright and varied pathology career so far: despite a PhD in neuropathology, she qualified as a generalist, headed a clinical support division, and worked as a clinical advisor to Ian Barnes during the Barnes review.

Now, Jo acts as a strong advocate for pathology and pathologists, encouraging improvements to pathology services across the country and working with the Royal College on public engagement projects to make pathology a better-known discipline. An eager proponent of new technologies, Jo actively works to promote digital pathology, scanning mass spectrometry, –omics, and more. But above all else, she believes that it is the people involved in pathology that make it a great discipline, and she believes strongly in pathologists’ ability to change the field – and to change the face of medicine as a whole. When asked about the future of the field, Jo says, “We are on a rapid trajectory as the high tech, big brain, go-to experts for the whole of medicine and veterinary practice.”