Dr. Martha Ortega Soto completed her undergraduate training in History at the Department of History within the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), where she also earned her Master's degree in Mexican History. She holds a Ph.D. in Humanities with a concentration in History from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa. She serves as a full-time Professor-Researcher at UAM Iztapalapa, where she is a member of the History of State and Society Section and the World History Academic Group. Additionally, she is affiliated with the History and Historiography Research Section of the Department of Humanities at UAM Azcapotzalco, focusing on Colonial Historiography.

In documentary preservation and institutional leadership, she was a founding member in 1997 of the Mtro. Jan Patula Dobek Historical Documentation Center, specializing in World History at UAM Iztapalapa, serving as co-director from its establishment until 2018, when she assumed full directorship. She also serves as co-director of the Manuel Sandoval Vallarta Scientific Historical Archive, located at the same campus. In 2016, she co-founded Saberes, the journal of the Association of Historians of Science and the Humanities, acting as co-editor until April 2019, when she became its director. Furthermore, she served as President of the Executive Council of the Association of Historians of Science and the Humanities for the 2022–2025 term.

Her historical research trajectory began with the study of colonization and the formation of early modern European empires, focusing specifically on the colonization of Siberia, Russian America, and Alta California. She has investigated the historical formation of the North Pacific as a regional geopolitical space during the second half of the 18th and 19th centuries, alongside conducting research in the History of Science, specifically regarding uranium mining and nuclear energy. Her analytical framework focuses on World History structured around macro-regions and long-term historical processes, expanding in recent years to include the study of the Russian Federation and the Balkan states. Her publications include peer-reviewed articles and books on the colonization and history of Alta California, Sonora, Alaska, the Russian Empire, the Russian Federation, and Mexico's involvement in the nuclear debate and uranium mining.