Delphine Muriaux

Delphine Muriaux (PhD, CNRS Research Director DR1) has spent 25 years studying enveloped RNA viruses. She earned her PhD in molecular and cellular biology in 1996 from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, focusing on the role of RNA dimerization and the nucleocapsid protein of HIV-1. From 1997 to 2003, she conducted postdoctoral research in Retrovirology at the NCI-NIH in Frederick, MD USA, before joining CNRS in 2005 at ENS Lyon. In 2012, she established her independent research team at IRIM CNRS & University of Montpellier.

Her research interests center on the role of viral matrix and nucleocapsid proteins, as well as lipids and membrane domains, in the assembly of RNA enveloped viruses within host cells (including HIV, Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and Arboviruses). Delphine and her team use single-molecule techniques to quantitatively study these processes in both fixed and live host cells, as well as in in vitro biomimetic model systems. Their goal is to decipher the mechanisms of virus assembly, viral particle formation, and egress.

Delphine is actively involved in the scientific community, participating in and organizing several workshops dedicated to the application of fluorescence microscopy in virology (e.g., CNRS Entreprise, F-BIAT and several MiFoBio and ANF workshops). She also organizes and speaks at international virology and cell biology conferences (including CSHL, EMBO courses, IRNCAS, and the HIV symposium).

Since 2012, Delphine has led the MDVA team at IRIM CNRS in Montpellier, where her research has made significant contributions to the understanding of virus-membrane interactions, viral protein-host factor interactions, by means of super-resolution microscopy (SRM). These advancements have been supported by funding from ANRS, ANR, CNRS, EU, Occitanie, PSPC, and CEFIPRA. Delphine has authored 82 publications, with an average of 37 citations per year.

Delphine is also involved in several scientific boards and councils, including serving as President of the Club Exo-Endo, and as a member of CSA and CSS5 Inserm, as well as the international IRNCAS. She serves as an editor for Scientific Reports and Viruses, and is a reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals in cell biology, immunology, and virology.

Since 2017, Delphine has been the Director of CEMIPAI at CNRS Montpellier, where she developed a high-tech BSL3 core facility with advanced microscopy for studying pathogenes, conducting antiviral phenotypic screenings, and providing BSL3 hosting and training.