Martinez receives a resident & fellow grant

Claudia I. Martinez, MD, Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Fellow at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UTHealth Houston, recently received a Resident & Fellow Grant from Panacea Financial Foundation.

Each year, the Panacea Financial Foundation gives grants to residents and fellows to support an initiative aimed at serving underrepresented populations or for the recipient’s own professional development with the mission of improving the diversity of the medical field.

Martinez found out about the grant from Spinal Cord Injury Fellowship Director, Isaac Hernandez Jimenez, MD, associate professor. She was required to submit an essay going over what she would use the grant funds for, an essay over adversity she has faced, along with a CV, and a list of accomplishments.

With the help of the grant funds, Martinez’s goal is to create a non-profit organization, the Claudia I. Martinez Foundation, which will help underfunded and underrepresented minorities with disabilities in Houston get help beyond the doors of a hospital.

Once a patient is released from hospital care, Martinez says it can be difficult to gain access to DME, medications, and other medical necessities a patient might need in order to successfully make progress in their recovery at home. One of the biggest barriers is lack of finances. Her foundation would step in and provide continued recovery services and medications to those patients who are in need.

Martinez has a unique perspective, as she has been both a patient and a physician. In 2017, during her second year of medical school, she suffered a stroke to the cervico-medullary junction that initially left her unable to function from the neck down. She was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital for her rehabilitation.

This experience is what made her pursue a specialty in spinal cord injury medicine. Going through the whole process inspired her to give back to others going through the same types of injuries.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise to be a patient during my training in medical school, residency, and fellowship,” Martinez said. “It opened my eyes to how difficult it is to navigate the medical system as a patient.”

Today, Martinez has made tremendous strides in her recovery. Starting September 1, 2025, she will officially join the PM&R faculty as an attending physician. She is grateful for the top-notch care she received and for the support she had from both her doctors and family.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” Martinez said. “The first time I entered TIRR, it was as a patient, literally strapped to a stretcher. To come full circle and soon enter as an attending is such a humbling experience. Every day I walk into TIRR, I’m reminded of my time as a patient, the exceptional care I received and that fuels my passion to pay it forward and provide the best care to my patients.”