LOFT Spotlight: Joseph Martinez

By Iliana Sanchez-Meraz

Joseph Martinez is a 2008 Chicago region Hispanic Heritage Youth award recipient in Engineering & Mathematics. After receiving the award, Joseph attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his B.S. in Biological Engineering in 2012.

Joseph gained extensive experience at MIT through research, bioengineering projects, and internships. Through an undergraduate research program, he designed and tested different collagen matrices to stimulate nerve regeneration. In addition to a research internship in osteoarthritis at Johnson & Johnson, Joseph also pursued two internships abroad. One was at a research institute in Bonn, Germany where he studied brain cell differentiation. The other was with a startup company in Barcelona, Spain where he helped develop a marketing platform for an ear regeneration technique aimed at children with ear deformities.

Working in bioengineering at MIT was an inspiring experience for Joseph. One of his most memorable courses included a senior-year class where he applied what he learned in the classroom on electronics and biology to design and build a qPCR machine to study gene expression. After graduating from MIT, Joseph began a career in the pharmaceutical industry at the life sciences consulting company Decision Resources, where he has now been for two years.

Joseph is currently an associate consultant at Decision Resources and provides pharmaceutical companies with strategic analysis on key issues surrounding new product launches. This primarily includes sales forecasts, assessments of competitive products and insurance reimbursement strategies. One of Joseph’s proudest accomplishments has been building a sales forecast for a new antibiotic based on interviews with top international physicians and large-scale quantitative surveys.

Joseph looks back on the breadth of his college experiences as a collection of eye-opening opportunities that were made possible by going out of his way to connect with department heads and alumni in the industry. Joseph advises future young leaders to actively pursue networking and build new friendships, particularly during college. Professors and professionals, especially alumni, are always willing to have a conversation with students who are enthusiastic about learning more and growing intellectually and professionally. Making new connections is critical to learning about all the internship and career opportunities that are open to someone willing to put themselves out there.