Kathleen Munley, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

Animal Behavior Cichlid Fishes Endocrinology Neuroscience Seasonal Biology

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About

Broadly, I am interested in how environmental context, including social and seasonal cues, is integrated via the brain and endocrine system to drive adaptive social behavior. My early research focused on studying physiological responses to environmental stressors in aquatic animals. I received my B.S. in Marine Biology and B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Miami, where I studied the effects of chronic lead exposure on life-history traits of the freshwater pulmonate snail Lymnaea stagnalis and examined how elevated carbon dioxide levels alter the intestinal physiology of Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta) in the lab of Dr. Martin Grosell. I then conducted three years of graduate study at Louisiana State University in the lab of Dr. Fernando Galvez, where I investigated how variation in gill polyamine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production contributes to species differences in salinity stress tolerance in killifish (Fundulus sp.). Here, I took my first courses in behavioral neuroscience and neuroethology and became fascinated by how hormones control the brain and behavior. I received my Ph.D. in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior from Indiana University, where I characterized how the hormone melatonin regulates seasonal aggression in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) in the lab of Dr. Greg Demas. I was then a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) F32 NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Beau Alward at the University of California Los Angeles, where I used genomics and gene editing to study the neural and molecular control of subordinate social status by androgens in the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. I joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Alberta as an Assistant Professor in July 2025.

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Research

The Seasonal and Social Neuroendocrinology (SeaSoN) Lab uses a comparative framework to study the social and seasonal regulation of behavioral plasticity in dominance hierarchies of African and Neotropical cichlid fishes. Our lab addresses these questions using a suite of genetic, molecular, endocrine, and behavioral tools, including transcriptomics, neuroanatomy, metabolomics, gene editing, and dynamic behavioral paradigms.

We are seeking graduate students to join the SeaSoN Lab in Fall 2026 or later. See the Join Us page on the lab website for more information!

PSYCH 275 - Brain and Behavior

An introduction to brain mechanisms involved in sensation, perception, movement, motivation, learning, and cognition, as studied in both humans and lower animals. Prerequisites: PSYCH 104 or SCI 100. [Faculty of Science]

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PSYCH 372 - Behavior in Relation to Genetics

An examination of the influence of genetic variations on behavioral differences in infra-human and human populations. Prerequisites: PSYCH 104, PSYCH 213 or STAT 151 or 161, and BIOL 207. [Faculty of Science]

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Browse more courses taught by Kathleen Munley

Kathleen M. Munley, Beau A. Alward

Molecular Psychology: Brain, Behavior, and Society. 2025 June; 10.12688/molpsychol.17571.2

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Kathleen M. Munley

Learning & Behavior. 2024 September; 53 10.3758/s13420-024-00649-w

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Kathleen M. Munley, Andrew P. Hoadley, Beau A. Alward

General and Comparative Endocrinology. 2024 February; 10.1016/j.ygcen.2023.114436

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Kristina O. Smiley, Kathleen M. Munley, Krisha Aghi, Sara E. Lipshutz, Tessa M. Patton, Devaleena S. Pradhan, Tessa K. Solomon-Lane, Simón(e) D. Sun

Hormones and Behavior. 2024 January; 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105445

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Gregory E. Demas, Kathleen M. Munley, Aaron M. Jasnow

Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2023 December; 10.1016/j.tem.2023.08.015

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Kathleen M. Munley, David M. Sinkiewicz, Sydney M. Szwed, Gregory E. Demas

Hormones and Behavior. 2023 August; 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105390

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Kathleen M. Munley, Yuqi Han, Matt X. Lansing, Gregory E. Demas

Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology. 2022 December; 10.1002/jez.2601

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Kathleen M. Munley, Jonathan C. Trinidad, Gregory E. Demas

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2022 September; 10.1098/rspb.2022.0668

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Kathleen M. Munley, Kristina L. Wade, Devaleena S. Pradhan

Hormones and Behavior. 2022 June; 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105161

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Kathleen M. Munley, Sohini Dutta, Aaron M. Jasnow, Gregory E. Demas

Hormones and Behavior. 2022 February; 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105099

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Kathleen M. Munley, Jonathan C. Trinidad, Jessica E. Deyoe, Catherine H. Adaniya, Andrea M. Nowakowski, Clarissa C. Ren, Grace V. Murphy, John M. Reinhart, Gregory E. Demas

Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 2021 March; 10.1111/jne.12940

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Nikki M. Rendon, Christopher L. Petersen, Kathleen M. Munley, Andrea C. Amez, Daniel L. Boyes, Marcy A. Kingsbury, Gregory E. Demas

Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 2020 August; 10.1111/jne.12894

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Clarissa C. Ren, Kristyn E. Sylvia, Kathleen M. Munley, Jessica E. Deyoe, Sarah G. Henderson, Michael P. Vu, Gregory E. Demas

The Journal of Experimental Biology. 2019 December; 10.1242/jeb.212548

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Kathleen M. Munley, Jessica E. Deyoe, Clarissa C. Ren, Gregory E. Demas

Hormones and Behavior. 2019 November; 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104608

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Kathleen M. Munley, Nikki M. Rendon, Gregory E. Demas

Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2018 April; 10.3389/fendo.2018.00136

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View additional publications

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• Lab Website