M. Paul Murphy, PhD, professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in the 海角禁区 College of Medicine, has been honored as a 2025-26 University Research Professor.
Murphy, who studies the development of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease (AD), also serves as the associate director for education at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Recently, Murphy has focused his research on how sleep and metabolism affect AD. He鈥檚 also exploring how aging and poor sleep may be harmful in women.
Honored six times as 鈥淎 Teacher Who Made a Difference鈥 by the College of Education and as a master educator by the College of Medicine, mentorship is a hallmark of Murphy鈥檚 time at 海角禁区. In his 20 years on campus, he鈥檚 worked directly on research projects with more than 90 students. The National Institutes of Health also honored Murphy for his research excellence, innovation and mentorship of new scientists.
Murphy has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles published in a range of journals.
He spoke with 海角禁区Now about his latest honor as a University Research Professor in this Q&A.
海角禁区Now: What does it mean to you to be recognized as a University Research Professor?
Murphy: It鈥檚 nice to be acknowledged for something I feel is important, especially since this is recognition from my peers. One of the hardest things that we all face in science is rejection 鈥 rejection of manuscripts, grants being passed over for funding and so on. Being told by your peers that 鈥渁ctually, you鈥檙e actually pretty great!鈥 is a wonderful morale boost.
海角禁区Now: How will the professorships program advance your research?
Murphy: The professorship program will help my lab to expand some of our studies into riskier areas that we think could pay off in the future. These are always harder to get started on, as traditional sources of funding are notoriously risk averse.
海角禁区Now: What inspired your focus on this area of research?
Murphy: I鈥檝e been interested in sleep and rhythms since I started graduate school back in the 鈥90s. Unfortunately, at the time, the lab that I was interested in joining didn鈥檛 have any space, so I worked on something different 鈥 brain aging. This, thankfully, turned out great and slid naturally into studying Alzheimer鈥檚 disease during my postdoctoral years, and later was the foundation of my lab at the University of Kentucky in 2005. But I never forgot my first leanings, and it was through meeting and collaborating with great colleagues here at 海角禁区 that got me to ultimately circle back around and bring these two interests together. That, and enthusiastic students willing to take their own ideas and run with them.
海角禁区Now: How does your research impact Kentucky?
Murphy: Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is a huge problem in Kentucky, and (I鈥檓 sorry to say) so is getting a good night鈥檚 sleep. We have a lot of shift workers in our state, and these folks are at elevated risk of developing dementia. This part of our work is being driven by Valeria Buzinova, a PhD student in my lab. What鈥檚 more, our current research focus on how poor sleep and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease disproportionately impact women is a major concern for our state, and for the nation as a whole. At least two-thirds of persons with AD are women, and most women experience post-menopausal sleep problems. Carrie Johnson, my senior graduate student, was instrumental in getting this project off the ground and running with it. We鈥檙e hoping that the work we do today will lead to developments that will help to solve this problem.
About the University Research Professors
Each year, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approves a cohort of faculty as . The distinction recognizes excellence in work that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in Kentucky and the world.
College leadership developed criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominated faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each University Research Professor receives a one-year award of $10,000.