She received her B.A. from Hofstra University in 1974 and her M.Ed degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Northeastern University in 1975. She started working with Dr. Eleanor M. Saffran at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Neurology at Temple University in 1982 and then completed her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at Temple University in 1987. She became an Assistant Professor of Neurology (Research) in 1991 and then Associate Professor of Neurology (Research) at Temple University School of Medicine in 1997. Dr. Martin is currently serves as the Director of the newly dedicated Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.