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Dr. Martín Estermann:
Dr. Martín Estermann:
From Argentina to the world
From Argentina to the world
Martín Estermann is an Argentinian-born developmental geneticist. He completed his undergraduate studies at Universidad Nacional del Noroeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNNOBA), where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Genetics. His thesis focused on the role of the pituitary on medaka fish temperature-dependent sex determination and was conducted under the supervision of Gustavo Somoza and Juan Ignacio Fernandino at INTECH in Chascomús, Argentina.
Martín completed his PhD at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, in 2022. During his doctoral research, he investigated how different cell types in the fetal chicken gonad undergo sexual differentiation, focusing on their developmental origins and identifying novel genetic regulators of this process.
He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH) in North Carolina, United States. His research uses mouse models to study the genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic mechanisms that regulate gonadal sex differentiation. In particular, he is interested in understanding how the bipotential gonadal primordium develops into either an ovary or a testis, and how metabolic pathways influence the genetic programs that guide this decision. His work combines knockout mouse models, advanced immunostaining approaches, transcriptomics, and the development of ex vivo screening platforms to investigate these developmental processes.
In 2026, Martín will begin a junior group leader position at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where he will continue exploring how developmental and metabolic pathways interact to regulate sex determination and reproductive development in both avian and mammalian models.
“My scientific path has taken me from Argentina to Australia, the United States, and soon the Czech Republic. Along the way, I’ve also worked across a wide range of model systems, from corn and medaka fish to birds, reptiles, human samples, and mice. It seems I enjoy moving across species as much as across countries.”
Winner image of the 2024 ReproBioArt SSR Award.
Martín has received several recognitions for his work, including the 2026 R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology (Early-Career Investigator Award) from the American Association for Anatomy, the 2023 Monash University Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Thesis Excellence, and the 2024 ReproBioArt SSR Award.
Beyond his research, he is actively engaged in the scientific community as Co-Chair of the Latinx in Developmental Biology Network and as a member of the Society for Developmental Biology Publications and Communications Committee. If you follow the society’s social media accounts, you have likely seen his posts, especially the visually striking #FluorescenceFriday features.
Martín is also passionate about mentoring, teaching, and science communication. Throughout his career he has taught courses in Argentina and Australia and has served as an invited lecturer at universities in Brazil and the United States. As part of his commitment to supporting early-career and Latin American scientists, he actively promotes visibility, collaboration, and resource sharing across research communities.
Lastly, we asked him what personal or professional values drive his work:
“I’m really driven by curiosity. I’m interested in fundamental questions about development and sex differentiation, but I’m also quite strict with myself about rigor and reproducibility. I think good science comes from being excited about the questions but disciplined in how you answer them.
I also strongly believe in following the data. Even if it contradicts my hypothesis, the data is the data, you have to listen to it and understand why. In fact, I often find unexpected or ‘negative’ results the most interesting, because they force you to dig deeper and explore mechanisms you hadn’t considered.”
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