Dale Martin

Dr. Dale Martin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, program director for Medical and Biomedical Sciences, and a Graduate Studies faculty member in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He leads the NeurdyPhagy Lab, which investigates protein mislocalization and proteostasis dysfunction in Huntington disease (HD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Martin’s early work in fat metabolism and protein structure–function relationships have contributed to the discovery of lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery to the brain and has since evolved into a Future Leaders in Brain Research award focused on optimizing antisense oligonucleotide delivery for ALS and multisystem proteinopathy. After identifying a novel function for lipidated huntingtin, the protein mutated in HD, he examined fatty acylation and autophagy in HD. He later developed high-throughput drug screens to identify small-molecule modulators of fatty acylation for nerve protection and repair. In the NeurdyPhagy Lab, Martin integrates this expertise to uncover shared disease mechanisms and advance therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders.

Martin identifies overlaps across neurodegenerative diseases to develop therapeutic targets that can apply to multiple conditions and pave the way for groundbreaking future therapies. His lab also works with organizations such as the Huntington Society of Canada, ALS Canada, and Cure VCP Disease to raise awareness and support patient communities. His work focuses on overcoming the challenge of drug transport across the blood–brain barrier through the development of a drug delivery system for targeted gene therapy. With an aging population and rising neurodegeneration, this research could have significant impact on patients and families. His research not only holds the potential to transform treatments for ALS and HD but also sparks vital multidisciplinary collaborations that aims to redefine the fight against neurodegeneration.

• Neuroscience and neurodegeneration

• Disease modeling

• Drug discovery, design and delivery

• Biochemistry and molecular genetics

• Cell biology

• Bioinformatics

• Nanomaterials

• 2011, PhD Cell Biology, University of Alberta, Canada

• 2003, BSc Combined Honours in Biochemistry and Microbiology & Immunology, Dalhousie University, Canada

• 2023, Brain Canada Future Leader in Brain Research

• Bluma Tischler Postdoctoral Fellowship, Faculty of Medicine - UBC

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR)

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

• 2024 – Present, Network for Aging Research (NAR), University of Waterloo

• 2023 – Present, UW Bone Research Group, Co-founder

• 2022 – Present, CIHR College of Reviewers

• 2021 – Present, PRiNCE - Proteostasis researchers in Canada, Eh

• 2021 – Present, CBB - Center for Bioengineering & Biotechnology at UW

• 2020 – Present, ACECHR - Association of Canadian Early Career Health Researchers

• 2019 – Present, Cure VCP Disease Research Group

• 2015 – Present, Canadian Society for Molecular Bioscience

• 2015 – Present, The Society for Neuroscience

• 2014 – Present, The Canadian Association for Neuroscience

• 2012 – Present, The Biochemical Society

• BIOL 302 - Functional Histology
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
• BIOL 472 - Cell Biology of Human Disease
  • Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• For the full list of Dale Martin's publications, please see Google Scholar.

• Perry, C.M., and Martin, D.D.O. (2026) ALS and Huntington disease: Identifying commonalities in neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Journal of Neuroscience 46 (10) e0263252026 https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0263-25.2026

• Alshehabi, Y.,Abrar, F., and Martin, D.D.O. (2025) Sequestering sequestosome 1 in autophagy and Huntington Disease. Autophagy Reports. 4(1) Article number 2547975 https://doi.org/10.1080/27694127.2025.2547975

• #Abrar, F., #Davies, M.C., Kumar, A., Dang, A., Nguyen, Y.T.N., Collins, J., Caron, N., Choudhary J.S., Sanders, S.S., Collins, M.O., Hayden, M.R., Martin, D.D.O. Reduced S-acylation of SQSTM1/p62 in Huntington disease is associated with impaired autophagy. FASEBJ 2025 https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202401781R

• Ramzan, F., Kumar, A., Abrar, F., Gray, R.V., Campbell, Z.E., Liao, L.M., Dang, A., Akanni, O., Guyn, C.M., Martin, D.D.O. (2024) Fatty links between multisystem proteinopathy and Small VCP-Interacting Protein. Cell Death Discovery. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-024-02118-9

• Ramzan, F., Abrar, F., Mishra, G.G., Liao, L.M., Martin, D.D.O.(2023) Lost in Traffic: Consequences of Altered Palmitoylation in Neurodegeneration. Frontiers in Physiology 14(846) PMID:37324388 https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1166125