{{short description|Australian behavior geneticist (born 1950)}} {{Other people|Nick Martin}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Nicholas Gordon Martin | image = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|02|14|df=y}} | birth_place = Adelaide, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | citizenship = Australian | nationality = | ethnicity = | field = Behavioural genetics | work_institutions = Queensland Institute of Medical Research | alma_mater = University of Adelaide, University of Birmingham | thesis_title = The classical twin study in human behaviour genetics | thesis_url = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.465081 | thesis_year = 1977 | doctoral_advisor = Lindon Eaves | doctoral_students = | known_for = Application of SEM to Behavioral Genetics; Molecular genetics; Genetics of values | prizes = | religion = | signature = }} '''Nicholas Gordon Martin''' (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian behaviour geneticist and director of the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. He has taught in the Departments of Pathologym, Zoology, and Psychology at the University of Queensland. He has received several awards and distinction for his work in genetics and twin studies.

==Academic career== Martin studied at the University of Adelaide where he completed his undergraduate degree in 1972.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=QIMR Berghofer |url=https://www.qimrb.edu.au/about/our-people/professor-nick-martin |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=www.qimrb.edu.au |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, he established a sample of twins in Adelaide while completing his honours thesis.<ref>Martin N. G. (1972) ''The inheritance of scholastic abilities in a sample of twins''. University of Adelaide: Department of Genetics, BSc First class Honours in Genetics.</ref>

Martin moved to the United Kingdom to complete a PhD in 1977 under Lindon Eaves at the University of Birmingham.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Martin |first=Nicholas Gordon |title=The classical twin study in human behaviour genetics |date=1977 |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Birmingham |url=https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.465081}}</ref> After working as a research fellow at the Department of Genetics of the University of Birmingham (1976–1978) and at the Department of Population Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University (1978–1983), he took a post as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the Medical College of Virginia (1983–1986). He returned to Australia in 1986, moving to Brisbane,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-31 |title=Professor Nick Martin – ACOLA |url=https://acola.org/nick-martin/ |access-date=2026-02-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> where he currently directs the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR Berghofer). Since 1992, he has been an adjunct Professor in the Departments of Pathology (1993), Zoology (1996), and Psychology (2003) at the University of Queensland, and Senior Principal Research Fellow at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.<ref name=":0" /> In 1978, together with J.D. Mathews, he established the Australian Twin Registry. QIMR Berghofer is now home to one of the largest twin studies in the world,<ref>Wright, M, et al. (2001). Genetics of Cognition: Outline of a collaborative Twin Study. ''Twin Research'', '''1''', 1–9.</ref> with more than 30 000 pairs enrolled.<ref name=":0" /> Martin has also "recruited over 3000 anorexia cases and over 20,000 depression cases. New projects are planned for stuttering and bipolar."<ref name=":0" />

== Research == Martin's 1977 thesis, ''The Classical Twin Study in Human Behaviour Genetics'', led, in part, to his co-authored publication, ''The power of the classical twin study'' (1978).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Martin |first=N. G. |last2=Eaves |first2=L. J. |last3=Kearsey |first3=M. J. |last4=Davies |first4=P. |date=February 1978 |title=The power of the classical twin study |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/hdy197810 |journal=Heredity |language=en |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=97–116 |doi=10.1038/hdy.1978.10 |issn=1365-2540|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

According to the Queensland Brain Institute, Martin has published more than 1200 research papers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-11 |title=Professor Nick Martin |url=https://qbi.uq.edu.au/profile/817/nick-martin |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=qbi.uq.edu.au |language=en}}</ref>

==Honours== Martin has twice won the Fulker Award for best paper in ''Behavior Genetics'' (1999 & 2003),{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} the Dobzhansky Award for Outstanding Contributions to Behavior Genetics (2005),<ref>[http://www.bga.org/pages/52/Historical_table_of_BGA_Meetings.html Historical table of BGA meetings]</ref> and the James Shields Award of the International Society of Twin Studies for outstanding contributions to twin research (1986),{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences. In addition, he has been president of the Behavior Genetics Association (1996–1997), and is editor-in-chief of ''Twin Research and Human Genetics''. He is on the editorial boards of several academic journals and is on the Advisory Board of the Australian NHMRC Twin Registry. He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aahms.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AAHMS_Fellowship_October-2015.pdf|title=Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences – October 2015|website=Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences|access-date=12 October 2018|archive-date=28 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128134830/http://www.aahms.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AAHMS_Fellowship_October-2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Family == In 1983, Martin married, Georgia Chenevix-Trench, a scientist known for her work in cancer research.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chenevix-Trench |first=Georgia |date=April 2020 |title=Nicholas Gordon Martin |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twin-research-and-human-genetics/article/nicholas-gordon-martin/63AFB96D189BF1A165BFE43CEA93A087 |journal=Twin Research and Human Genetics |language=en |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=72–73 |doi=10.1017/thg.2020.14 |issn=1832-4274}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://genepi.qimr.edu.au/staff/?staffusername=nickM N. G. Martin CV] * [http://genepi.qimr.edu.au/general/publications.html List of publications]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Nick}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Prince Alfred College Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:Academics from Brisbane Category:Behavior geneticists Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham Category:Academics of the University of Birmingham Category:Australian academic journal editors Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences