Cynthia T. McMurray

Biochemist Senior Scientist

Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging

Cellular and Tissue Imaging

Building: 33, Room 249
Phone: (510) 486-6526
Fax: (510) 486-6880
CTMcMurray@lbl.gov

Research Interests

Cynthia McMurray studies the biological progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington Disease and Alzheimer Disease, by investigating changes in brain metabolism, DNA damage, and other cellular indicators.

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Cell ‘Fingerprinting’ Could Yield Alzheimer Disease Diagnostic

October 6, 2021

A technology developed by Cynthia McMurray, a senior scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, and her team shows great promise for diagnosing Alzheimer disease before symptoms arise. This disease affects millions of people worldwide and is estimated to be the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

Astrocyte Insight Explains Brain Region-specific Vulnerability in Huntington Disease

April 17, 2019

The mutant form of the Huntington gene, mHTT, which encodes a product that causes the disease, is expressed throughout the brain in affected individuals. Yet neurons in individual regions of the brain are differentially susceptible to its neurotoxic effects. The basis for this puzzling region-specific vulnerability in Huntington disease—which is likewise a feature of Alzheimer and Parkinson neurodegenerative diseases—was hitherto unknown.

A new study led by Cynthia McMurray, a senior scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), provides evidence that regional differences in neuronal susceptibility to Huntington disease can be attributed to substrate-driven metabolic reprogramming strategies adopted by astrocytes in response to low glucose. The team recently reported their findings in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Infrared Beams Show Cell Types in a Different Light

August 23, 2018

Biosciences’ Cynthia McMurray and Mike Martin of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) are spearheading an effort to develop a noninvasive, label-free technique to probe living cells in their native environments to aid in biological and medical research. By shining highly focused infrared light—which doesn’t damage or otherwise alter the cells—they hope to be able to distinguish features within cells and identify individual cell types by their unique spectral signatures. McMurray, a senior scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), and Martin, photon science operations group lead at the ALS, received a round of seed money earlier this year to support their effort, dubbed “spectral phenotyping.” An Aug. 8 news article in the journal Science highlighted their work and that of the larger Human Cell Atlas project that aims to provide “a unique ID card for each cell type,” as well as a 3D map of how cells form tissues, and new insights into disease.

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