Martyn Cobourne graduated in Dental Surgery from King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1990. After a series of junior hospital appointments in Bristol and London he undertook specialty training in orthodontics at King’s Dental Institute, obtaining his Membership in Orthodontics in 1997. This was followed by the award of a Clinical Training Fellowship from the UK Medical Research Council in 1998, which allowed him to undertake a PhD investigating tooth development in Paul Sharpe’s laboratory at Guy’s Dental Hospital. Martyn was appointed as a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics at King’s College London Dental Institute in 2004 and promoted to Professor of Orthodontics in 2011. His research is primarily focused on the role of molecular signaling pathways during early development of the head and face. However, he is also interested in the effectiveness of contemporary orthodontic treatment interventions and has led a number of randomized controlled trials investigating treatment efficiency. He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles; he is also the author of two successful orthodontic textbooks and has edited a volume on the management of cleft lip and palate. He was Director of Research at the British Orthodontic Society from 2012-16 and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Orthodontics.