Dr Roy Joseph Martin Jr. passed away unexpectedly on April 1st, 2025 in Woodstock, GA following a stroke. He will be missed by many in the nutrition and obesity research communities and leaves behind his wife of fifty-seven years, Sue, his daughter, Shelley, son, Scott, and five grandchildren in addition to his brother and three sisters.

Roy grew up on a dairy farm in Louisiana and began his academic career as an undergraduate at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he then earned and Master’s degree from University of Florida and a PhD in Animal Science from University of California, Davis. He joined the Faculty at Penn State in Animal Nutrition where his research achievements were recognized by a Nutrition Foundation Future Leaders Award. In 1978 Roy moved to the Department of Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia where his research career continued to be acknowledged by an NIH Career Development Award, the American Institute of Nutrition Mead Johnson National Award, a UGA Creative Research Medal and an Alumni Foundation Distinguished Professorship. Roy served as Department Chair for over 10 years before moving to LSU in 2001. He served both as Director of the School of Human Ecology at LSU and as Director of the Neurobehavioral Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. In 2011 Roy and Sue moved back to California where he spent several years as an adjunct professor at University of California, Davis before retiring to Austin, Texas. Early in 2025 Roy and Sue moved back to Georgia to be closer to family.

Roy’s background in Animal Science and Nutrition resulted in a unique blend of research interests that included fetal development, adipogenesis, central control of energy balance and peripheral and central metabolism. Because of these interests he was an early supporter of both SSIB and NAASO (now TOS) and several of his trainees continued as active members as their careers progressed. At UGA Roy was responsible for some of the earliest studies investigating the impact of energy balance status on hypothalamic glucose and fatty acid utilization and, in collaboration with USDA animal scientists at the Richard Russel Research Center, the effects of maternal obesity and diabetes on fetal adipose tissue development. During his time at LSU he led a productive program testing the impact of resistant starch on gut health, insulin sensitivity and body composition.

Roy had an unassuming and self-deprecating personality, but was a skilled leader who put the needs of his department first. Roy’s success and productivity resulted from an uncanny ability to develop collaborations and to earn life-long respect and appreciation from those he worked with. This was evidenced by the large group of students and technicians who moved with him from Penn State to UGA. He developed an environment in which everyone worked hard and made significant contributions, but at the same time managed to find time for parties and happy hours. Roy considered the most significant thing he did was to foster his trainee’s success. Graduate students and post-docs went on to careers in academia, industry and government. He was generous with his time and ready to mentor, support and find opportunities for his trainees, faculty members and staff. He was a prolific grant writer and routinely included co-investigators from across and between institutions, developing projects that incorporated a range of skills and interests. Roy and Sue took advantage of summer sabbaticals to travel internationally, making new friends in the scientific community and using the weekends to explore the countryside, while being brave enough to leave their home in the care of graduate students. Roy will be remembered for his sense of humor and ability to find a positive in everything, even when dealing with significant health issues during his retirement. He will be greatly missed by all whose lives were touched and enriched by his friendship.