Claudia Ilissa Martinez, MD

Biography

Dr. Claudia I. Martinez, MD is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth. As an attending physician at TIRR, Dr. Martinez’s primary focus is caring for patients recovering from spinal cord injuries. She is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with a sub-specialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury medicine. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

She received her medical degree from UTHealth Houston in 2020. Dr. Martinez completed her Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at UTHealth at Houston in 2024 where she served as Administrative Chief Resident and completed a clinical fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at UTHealth Houston in 2025.

She is the first person in her family to graduate college. She has received numerous awards for her service to others such as the Medal of Valor from the Houston Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the national TYLENOL Future Care Scholarship Award. She has been named a Texas Medical Association Scholar and has received the Medical Student Diversity Scholarship Award from the American Academy of Neurology.

Being inspired by her own recovery with incomplete Spinal Cord Injury after suffering a stroke during her last brain surgery that initially left her unable to function from the neck down, she chose to pursue a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. With her unique background, she strives to bridge the gap between patient and doctor as she has been a patient throughout her undergraduate and medical school career. Her goal as a physiatrist is to advocate, empower and provide for her patients during their hospitalization, but more importantly beyond the doors of the hospital.

She has become a role model and voice for those working in medicine who have a disability through her social media presence and has appeared on several national and international news platforms. The Claudia I. Martinez Strength Scholarship Endowment was recently created at UTHealth in her honor to award a medical student facing adversity a scholarship for their medical education.

Beyond her service to others, Dr. Martinez consistently performed at the top of her class despite her medical setbacks and disability. She has earned numerous scholarships for her merit and was elected in to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society. In 2025 she was awarded the Panacea Financial Foundation Grant to support her efforts in creating her own non-profit organization with the aim to award individuals with disabilities resources that make a positive impact on their recovery and life.