The Murphy laboratory studies the genetics of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. TP53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human cancer. In addition, germline mutations in p53 predispose to Li Fraumeni Syndrome, which is a devastating cancer-predisposition syndrome that affects approximately 1:5000 people in the United States. The Murphy laboratory specifically focuses on genetic variants of p53 that exist in populations with the highest cancer burden of any other group: individuals of of African-decent (P47S and Y107H) and Ashkenazi Jewish descent (G334R). Her work seeks to understand the impact of these genetic variants of p53 on cancer risk and the efficacy of cancer therapy. She also seeks to identify personalized medicine approaches for tumors with these variants. Therefore, her work has direct relevance for improving the cancer prognosis and therapy of individuals of African and Ashkenazi descent. Murphy also studies high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), and specializes in the impact of p53 mutation on the therapy of this tumor type.
Murphy obtained a B.S. degree in biochemistry at Rutgers University, followed by a doctorate in molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1994, she began postdoctoral research at Princeton University in the laboratory of Arnold J. Levine, Ph.D., the co-discoverer of p53. In 1998, Murphy became an Assistant Professor at Fox Chase Cancer Center, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003, and Full Professor in 2011. She joined The Wistar Institute in 2011 and became Program Leader of the Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program in 2012. Murphy is an adjunct professor at Drexel University College of Medicine and The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Murphy Laboratory
