Chase was born and raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

After graduating from College of Wooster in Ohio, Martha went on to work in the Laboratory of Alfred Hershey in 1950. Much of their work with bacteriophages and the nature of viruses became the foundation for the field of molecular biology.

 In 1952 Martha chase participated in what was to become known as the “Hershey-Chase Experiment”. Chase participated much in the experimental work, another technician noted that in Hershey’s lab there was often just the two of them , Hershey and Chase, and that they often worked in complete silence, Hershey directing the experiments by simply pointing his finger to Chase, always with a minimum of words.

            In 1953 Chase left Cold Springs Harbor to work at first Oak Ridge National Laboratory and then at the University of Rochester. In 1959 she began her work on her PhD at the University of Southern California, earning the degree in 1964. In the late 1960’s Chase experienced a number of personal and financial setbacks including job loss, a setback that saw the end of her scientific career. Later, she also succumbed to dementia, with long term but no short-term memory.