Dr. Martínez-Conde has served as a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, physiology, and pharmacology at the State University of New York and at Downstate Medical Center, where she directs the Integrative Neuroscience Laboratory. She previously ran laboratories at the Barrow Neurological Institute and University College London. She is recognized for her studies on illusions, eye movements and perception, neurological disorders and disorientation of attention in stage magic.

Much of Martínez-Conde's research focuses on how our brains create perceptual and cognitive illusions in daily life. He has studied the Spinning Serpents illusion, the Enigma illusion of Isia Leviant