Martha M. Masters

Martha Meredith Masters, M.D, Ph.D. . was a major character on House during the seventh season of the series, with a special appearance at the end of the series. She was a third year medical student who graduated medical school in Last Temptation and became a medical intern. Masters filled in for Thirteen for a time while Thirteen was on leave from the hospital. Masters quickly became a fan favorite and a darling of the critics, creating a character who was a true match for House’s intellect and abusive behavior. She also provided him with two challenges. Unlike his other team members, who were all board certified before they reached him, House has to deal with someone bright but untrained. He was also challenged by Masters unfailing honesty and belief in the better nature of people.

She was portrayed by actress Amber Tamblyn.

Early Life
Masters' father is the classics chair (head of department) at Columbia University who met her mother, who is nineteen years his junior, when she was his student in or about 1979. Her parents have been happily married for thirty-two years. Masters describes her mother as "gorgeous" in the episode Small Sacrifices. Masters graduated high school at the age of 13 and entered college as a freshman. Before entering medical school, she obtained doctorates in both applied math (with a specialty in statistics) and art history. She entered medical school in about 2008. She was interviewed at Johns Hopkins Medical School by Chris Taub.

Although she initially said she lived alone and refused to discuss whether or not she was in a relationship, she has a roommate, Donovan, whom she has lived with since they were first-year students together. It is revealed Masters has difficulty entering romantic relationships and she is unattached throughout her appearance on the series. Due to the age difference between her and most of her classmates during school (who were, on average, at least three years older than she was), she has always had difficulty forming social relationships.

Introduction to the team
Lisa Cuddy is impressed enough with Masters’ accomplishments to insist that Masters be the woman on House's team when House delays in hiring Thirteen's replacement and then goes through Dr. Kelly Benedict, Dr. Christina Fraser and Dr. Cheng in quick succession.

During her initial case, Masters has difficulty adjusting. She refuses to join the other members of the team in breaking into the patient's home and insists on presenting all possible options to the patient and telling him the truth, even though House argues that this will harm the patient. House fires her, rehires her to use her as a sounding board, then fires and rehires her again. He challenges her that she will lie to a patient and violate her principles in other ways by the time she's finished her training with him. She tells him he's wrong.

In addition, although Chris Taub interviewed her for an hour when she applied at Johns Hopkins, she does not appear to remember him when she encounters him again in House's office. This upsets Taub, who snipes at her throughout her first case. Later she tells him that she did remember him but felt too awkward in bringing it up. Eric Foreman thinks she will make a good addition to the team because she is unspoiled and hasn't picked up any bad habits. Robert Chase is entertained by watching House needle her and compared it to watching a rabbit walk into a buzz saw.. Cuddy thinks she is a rising star and wants Masters at her hospital. She refuses to let Masters quit when she becomes discouraged and gives her advice about how to get along with House.