Ciaran Murphy-Royal, Université de Montréal

Research

Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions Hpa Axis Neurobiology Of Stress Stress Adaptation Astrocytes Glia-Neuron Interactions Learning And Memory Synaptic Plasticity

Latest papers

Basolateral amygdala astrocytes encode anxiety states.
Neuron · 2026 · senior author
Neuronal lipid droplets play a conserved and sex-biased role in maintaining whole-body energy homeostasis.
Nature metabolism · 2026
A divergent astrocytic response to stress alters activity patterns via distinct mechanisms in male and female mice.
Nature communications · 2025 · senior author

All 9 publications

Latest funding

Microglial lipid droplets as regulators of metabolic homeostasis
CIHR · 2026 · Co-investigator
$1,005,976
Astrocytic glucocorticoid signaling in the PVN tunes stress adaptation
CIHR · 2025 · Nominated PI
$1,189,575
The role of astrocytes in early-life stress-induced behavioural dysfunction
CIHR · 2022 · Nominated PI
$841,500

All 6 grants and awards

9 publications.

01

Basolateral amygdala astrocytes encode anxiety states.

Ghenissa O, Guayasamin M, Ngo K, Duquenne M, Peyrard S, Amilhon B, Murphy-Royal C

Neuron2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2026.02.038 PMID: 41881020

02

Neuronal lipid droplets play a conserved and sex-biased role in maintaining whole-body energy homeostasis.

Manceau R, Cherian CM, Majeur D, Miller CJ, Fisher JD, Boisjoly F, Liston JB, Bako JA, Wat LW, Chao CF, Labarre A, Hollman S, Prakash S, Audet S, Depaauw-Holt L, Rogers B, Bosson A, Biswas P, Xi JJY, Callow CAS, Yoosefi N, Schikora N, Shahraki N, Xia YH, Hui A, VanderZwaag J, Bouyakdan K, Rodaros D, Kotchetkov P, Daneault C, Fallahpour G, Tetreault M, Tremblay MÈ, Ruiz M, Lacoste B, Parker JA, Murphy-Royal C, Huan T, Fulton S, Rideout EJ, Alquier T

Nature metabolism2026

DOI: 10.1038/s42255-026-01508-w PMID: 41981110

03

A divergent astrocytic response to stress alters activity patterns via distinct mechanisms in male and female mice.

Depaauw-Holt LR, Duquenne M, Hamane S, Peyrard S, Rogers B, Ireland C, Nasu Y, Fulton S, Bosson A, Alquier T, Murphy-Royal C

Nature communications2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61643-y PMID: 40640165

04

Astrocytic CREB: The Hidden Driver of Stress Susceptibility.

Guayasamin M, Murphy-Royal C

Biological psychiatry2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.02.892 PMID: 40216519

05

Functional Evaluation of Astrocytic Responses to Stress.

Depaauw-Holt L, Peyrard S, Bosson A, Murphy-Royal C

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4366-2_19 PMID: 40111611

06

Morphological Investigation of Astrocytic Responses to Stress.

Depaauw-Holt L, Peyrard S, Bosson A, Murphy-Royal C

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4366-2_18 PMID: 40111610

07

Cellular Investigation of Astrocytic Neuroendocrine Responses to Stress.

Depaauw-Holt L, Peyrard S, Bosson A, Murphy-Royal C

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4366-2_17 PMID: 40111609

08

Development and Validation of Stress Paradigms to Study Astrocytes in Rodent Models of Stress Disorders.

Depaauw-Holt L, Peyrard S, Bosson A, Murphy-Royal C

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4366-2_16 PMID: 40111608

09

A genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor for extracellular L-lactate.

Nasu Y, Murphy-Royal C, Wen Y, Haidey JN, Molina RS, Aggarwal A, Zhang S, Kamijo Y, Paquet ME, Podgorski K, Drobizhev M, Bains JS, Lemieux MJ, Gordon GR, Campbell RE

Nature communications2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27332-2 PMID: 34873165

Microglial lipid droplets as regulators of metabolic homeostasis

Co-investigatorCIHR2026Project Grant

Principal investigators: Alquier, Thierry

Keywords: Energy And Glucose Homeostasis; Hypothalamus; Lipid Signaling; Melanocortin System; Microglia; Neuroimmune Functions; Neuroinflammation; Neurometabolism; Obesity; Type 2 Diabetes

$1,005,976

Astrocytic glucocorticoid signaling in the PVN tunes stress adaptation

Nominated PICIHR2025Project Grant

Principal investigators: Murphy-Royal, Ciaran; Alquier, Thierry

Keywords: Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions; Hpa Axis; Neurobiology Of Stress; Stress Adaptation

$1,189,575

The role of astrocytes in early-life stress-induced behavioural dysfunction

Nominated PICIHR2022Project Grant

Principal investigators: Murphy-Royal, Ciaran

Keywords: Astrocytes; Glia-Neuron Interactions; Learning And Memory; Synaptic Plasticity

$841,500

Bioenergetic role of astrocytes in neuronal plasticity and behaviour

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Murphy-Royal, Ciaran

$120,000

Bioenergetic role of astrocytes in neuronal plasticity and behaviour

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Discovery Launch Supplement

Principal investigators: Murphy-Royal, Ciaran

$12,500

Bioenergetic control of plasticity by astrocytes in stress

Co-investigatorCIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Gordon, Grant R

Keywords: Neuroscience

$883,576

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

Frequent collaborators

Nutrition
Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Biochimie et microbiologie
Medicine
Other

Co-authors at Université de Montréal, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Stephanie Fulton

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Stephanie Fulton

Nutrition

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Thierry Alquier

Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Baptiste Lacoste

Cellular and Molecular Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Matthieu Ruiz

Nutrition

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Marie-Eve Paquet

Biochimie et microbiologie

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Astrocyte-Neuron Interactions Dear Professor Murphy-Royal, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Basolateral amygdala astrocytes encode anxiety states." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Astrocytic glucocorticoid signaling in the PVN tunes stress adaptation" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]