Ass.-Prof. Adrian Martinez de la Torre, PhD
Assistant Professor of Functioning Epidemiology
T +41 41 229 56 40 • Alpenquai 4, Room 12 • adrian.martinez@unilu.ch
CV
Adrian Martinez de la Torre is Assistant Professor in Functioning Epidemiology at the University of Lucerne and Group Leader at Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF). His background brings together training in quantitative methods and experience in applied health research across academic, clinical, and industry settings. Adrian holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Methods of Quantitative Analysis from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), a Master of Science in Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a PhD in Biostatistics with a specialization in Pharmacoepidemiology from ETH Zurich.
Following the completion of his doctorate, Adrian worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Pharmacoepidemiology at ETH Zurich from 2022 to 2024, contributing to methodologically innovative research on drug safety and effectiveness using real-world data. In parallel, he co-founded Methodds, an ETH Zurich startup focused on developing methodological solutions for health research teams.
Adrian’s academic and professional trajectory also includes several applied roles. He served as Lead Biostatistician for the Digestive and Liver Diseases group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) in Barcelona, where he led several observational studies on treatment outcomes in gastroenterology and gut microbiome. Prior to this, he worked as a Researcher at SKIM, a health economics and market research consultancy based in Rotterdam, and as a Data Scientist at Heygo, a Barcelona-based startup.
His experience spans academia, clinical research, and private-sector innovation. A consistent focus across these roles has been the application of advanced data science methods to generate insights in healthcare.
Research
Adrian’s research focuses on developing and applying advanced statistical methods and machine learning models to analyze how functioning progresses and interacts with disease progression. His work leverages extensive electronic health records and clinical databases to gain insights into these complex relationships. In addition, Adrian has a strong interest in sports rehabilitation, particularly in predicting return-to-play timelines for football players, and has collaborated with FC Barcelona on related projects.
