W. John Martin, M.D., Ph.D. is the founder of the Center for Complex Infectious Diseases. He has a strong commitment to the Center’s goals, especially as they relate to diagnosis and potential therapy of stealth viral illnesses.

John was born in Australia, where he obtained MD and Ph.D. degrees from the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, respectively. He has had medical residency training in both Australia and the United States. He has had research training at prestigious institutions in both countries, and also in England. These include the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School and University College London. He was appointed Professor of Pathology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in July 1985. John has clinical Boards in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology with subspecialty certification in both Immunopathology and Medical Microbiology. He also has Boards in Medical Laboratory Immunology and is a Diplomat of both the American College of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Forensic Medicine. John headed the Viral Oncology Unit within the Division of Virology, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, from 1975 to 1980. This experience sparked his interest in the safety of live viral vaccines, which is expressed today in his pursuit of vaccine-derived viral agents as causes of human illness.