Faculty profile

Julien Muffat

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Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Toronto

Julien Muffat

Assistant Professor

Department of Molecular Genetics

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Bioengineering and Synthetic Neuro Immunology

ORCID

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
13 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Principal investigator on 6 research grants (3 CIHR, 2 NSERC, 1 SSHRC), most recently in 2023.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

Citations

h-index

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

Education

Ph.D.
License and Maitrise
Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies
Post-Doctorate

Profiles and links

University Profile Search on Google Scholar iDORCID

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Signals and details

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Crc 3d Cultures Disease Models Encephalitis Herpes Microglia Neurodegeneration Neuroinflammation

Latest papers

HOPX regulates the development and lineage progression of human stem cell-derived outer radial glia-like cells.
Stem cell reports · 2026
Long-read proteogenomic atlas of human neuronal differentiation reveals isoform diversity informing neurodevelopmental risk mechanisms.
Nature communications · 2026
Understanding Human Cortical Expansion Using Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Brain Organoids: Insights Into Progenitor Evolution and Diversity.
Journal of neurochemistry · 2026

All 18 publications

Latest funding

Investigating the molecular pathogenesis of PTEN-related neurodevelopmental disorders and developing therapeutic strategies using human neural models
CIHR · 2026 · Co-investigator
$1,028,926
Canada Research Chair - Tier 2
CIHR · 2023 · Nominated PI
$500,000
Dissecting the pathological consequences of neurological infections by herpesviruses, using human iPSC-derived cultures.
CIHR · 2020 · Nominated PI
$879,750

All 8 grants and awards

18 publications.

HOPX regulates the development and lineage progression of human stem cell-derived outer radial glia-like cells.

Dong XX, Choi WWY, Ahmed M, Nishimura H, Tian A, Millar D, Bhattacharya A, Aggarwal A, Vu L, Weng OY, Nguyen R, Chakraborty P, Wang LY, Wilson MD, Shu Q, Li X, Wu YC, Muffat J, Li Y

Stem cell reports2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2026.103087 PMID: 42785308

Long-read proteogenomic atlas of human neuronal differentiation reveals isoform diversity informing neurodevelopmental risk mechanisms.

Xu N, Rynard KM, Radley E, Tian A, Arshad M, Long C, Ly J, Luo H, Hogan E, Fafouti ME, Davie M, Naimi F, Li Y, Calarco JA, Trost B, Muffat J, Lee HO, Lipshitz HD, Smibert CA, Tripathy SJ

Nature communications2026

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-76675-1 PMID: 42680762

Understanding Human Cortical Expansion Using Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Brain Organoids: Insights Into Progenitor Evolution and Diversity.

Choi WWY, Muffat J, Li Y

Journal of neurochemistry2026

DOI: 10.1111/jnc.70527 PMID: 42478603

mTORC1 and mTORC2 synergy in human neural development, disease, and regeneration.

Dhaliwal NK, Muffat J, Li Y

Neural regeneration research2026

DOI: 10.4103/nrr.nrr-d-24-00961 PMID: 40146001

ARP2/3 complex mediates the neuropathology of PTEN-deficient human neural cells downstream of mTORC1 and mTORC2 hyperactivation.

Dhaliwal NK, Weng OY, Tian A, Aggarwal A, Ahmed M, Sun G, Bhattacharya A, Choi WWY, Nishimura H, Chakraborty P, Dong X, Wu Y, Wilson MD, Wang LY, Parada LF, Muffat J, Li Y

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2523367123 PMID: 41678301

Reactive oligodendrocytes promote glioblastoma progression through CCL5/CCR5-mediated glioma stem cell maintenance

Mikolajewicz N, Zhai K, Puri A, Miletic P, Tatari N, Wei J, Savage N, Huang Z, Huang Q, Lee SY

Neuron20269 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.12.012

Long-read proteogenomic atlas of human neuronal differentiation reveals isoform diversity informing neurodevelopmental risk mechanisms.

Xu N, Rynard KM, Radley E, Tian A, Arshad M, Long C, Ly J, Luo H, Hogan E, Fafouti ME, Davie M, Naimi F, Li Y, Calarco JA, Trost B, Muffat J, Lee HO, Lipshitz HD, Smibert CA, Tripathy SJ

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

DOI: 10.64898/2025.12.16.693263 PMID: 41446062

Expanding the neuroimmune research toolkit with in vivo brain organoid technologies.

Tian A, Bhattacharya A, Muffat J, Li Y

Disease models & mechanisms2025

DOI: 10.1242/dmm.052200 PMID: 40231345

The use of a multi-metric readout screen to identify EHMT2/G9a-inhibition as a modulator of cancer-associated fibroblast activation state.

Wu NC, Quevedo R, Nurse M, Hezaveh K, Liu H, Sun F, Muffat J, Sun Y, Simmons CA, McGaha TL, Prinos P, Arrowsmith CH, Ailles L, D'Arcangelo E, McGuigan AP

Biomaterials2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2024.122879 PMID: 39395244

Synergistic hyperactivation of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 underlies the neural abnormalities of PTEN-deficient human neurons and cortical organoids.

Dhaliwal NK, Weng OY, Dong X, Bhattacharya A, Ahmed M, Nishimura H, Choi WWY, Aggarwal A, Luikart BW, Shu Q, Li X, Wilson MD, Moffat J, Wang LY, Muffat J, Li Y

Cell reports2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114173 PMID: 38700984

Investigating the molecular pathogenesis of PTEN-related neurodevelopmental disorders and developing therapeutic strategies using human neural models

Co-investigatorCIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Li, Yun

Keywords: Brain Disorder; Crispr; Pluripotent Stem Cell Models; Pten

$1,028,926

Canada Research Chair - Tier 2

Nominated PICIHR2023Canada Research Chairs - CIHR Funded - Tier 2

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

Keywords: Crc

$500,000

Dissecting the pathological consequences of neurological infections by herpesviruses, using human iPSC-derived cultures.

Nominated PICIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

Keywords: 3d Cultures; Disease Models; Encephalitis; Herpes; Microglia; Neurodegeneration; Neuroinflammation; Seizures; Stem Cells; Virus

$879,750

A human iPSC-derived platform to screen for modulators of microglial differentiation, residency and reactivity.

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

$12,500

Inflammation along the gut-brain axis: reverse-engineering emerging polio-like disorders

Principal investigatorSSHRC2019New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

Keywords: neuroinflammation; organoids; microglia; enterovirus; poliomyelitis; paralysis

$272,738

A human iPSC-derived platform to screen for modulators of microglial differentiation, residency and reactivity.

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

$259,000

Functional Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Defining Molecular Pathogenesis and Targets for Biomarkers and Personalised Therapies

Co-investigatorCIHR2018Foundation Grant

Principal investigators: ST GEORGE-HYSLOP, Peter H

Keywords: Alzheimer Disease; Biomarkers; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; Functional Genetics Of Risk Genes; Intrinsically Disordered Phase Separating Proteins; Neurological Disorders; Therapeutic Targets

$3,062,890

Canada Research Chair Tier 2

Nominated PICIHR2018Canada Research Chairs - CIHR Funded - Tier 2

Principal investigators: Muffat, Julien

Keywords: Crc

$500,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Profile data last refreshed on September 25, 2026 from the university directory, publication records and CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding.

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Julien Muffat

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

HOPX regulates the development and lineage progression of human stem cell-derived outer radial glia-like cells.

Long-read proteogenomic atlas of human neuronal differentiation reveals isoform diversity informing neurodevelopmental risk mechanisms.

Understanding Human Cortical Expansion Using Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Brain Organoids: Insights Into Progenitor Evolution and Diversity.

mTORC1 and mTORC2 synergy in human neural development, disease, and regeneration.

ARP2/3 complex mediates the neuropathology of PTEN-deficient human neural cells downstream of mTORC1 and mTORC2 hyperactivation.

Reactive oligodendrocytes promote glioblastoma progression through CCL5/CCR5-mediated glioma stem cell maintenance

Long-read proteogenomic atlas of human neuronal differentiation reveals isoform diversity informing neurodevelopmental risk mechanisms.

Expanding the neuroimmune research toolkit with in vivo brain organoid technologies.

The use of a multi-metric readout screen to identify EHMT2/G9a-inhibition as a modulator of cancer-associated fibroblast activation state.

Synergistic hyperactivation of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 underlies the neural abnormalities of PTEN-deficient human neurons and cortical organoids.

Investigating the molecular pathogenesis of PTEN-related neurodevelopmental disorders and developing therapeutic strategies using human neural models

Canada Research Chair - Tier 2

Dissecting the pathological consequences of neurological infections by herpesviruses, using human iPSC-derived cultures.

A human iPSC-derived platform to screen for modulators of microglial differentiation, residency and reactivity.

Inflammation along the gut-brain axis: reverse-engineering emerging polio-like disorders

A human iPSC-derived platform to screen for modulators of microglial differentiation, residency and reactivity.

Functional Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Defining Molecular Pathogenesis and Targets for Biomarkers and Personalised Therapies

Canada Research Chair Tier 2

Frequent collaborators

Yun Li

Lu-Yang Wang

Brett Trost

Yu Sun

Jason Moffat

Hong Han

Zhengping Jia

Sheila Singh

Gelareh Zadeh

Laurie Ailles