https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8298-7272
Overview
Dr. Murphy is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and serves as Chief of the Division of Reproductive Sciences. As a molecular biologist with training in human epigenetics, her research interests are largely centered around the role of epigenetic modifications in health and disease.
Dr. Murphy has ongoing projects on gynecologic malignancies, including approaches to eradicate ovarian cancer cells that survive chemotherapy and later give rise to recurrent disease. Dr. Murphy is actively involved in many collaborative projects relating to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD).
Her lab is currently working on preconception environmental exposures in males, particularly on the impact of cannabis on the sperm epigenome and the potential heritability of these effects. They are also studying the epigenetic and health effects of in utero exposures, with primary focus on children from the Newborn Epigenetics STudy (NEST), a pregnancy cohort she co-founded who were recruited from central North Carolina between 2005 and 2011. Dr. Murphy and her colleagues continue to follow NEST children to determine relationships between prenatal exposures and later health outcomes.
Dr. Murphy has ongoing projects on gynecologic malignancies, including approaches to eradicate ovarian cancer cells that survive chemotherapy and later give rise to recurrent disease. Dr. Murphy is actively involved in many collaborative projects relating to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD).
Her lab is currently working on preconception environmental exposures in males, particularly on the impact of cannabis on the sperm epigenome and the potential heritability of these effects. They are also studying the epigenetic and health effects of in utero exposures, with primary focus on children from the Newborn Epigenetics STudy (NEST), a pregnancy cohort she co-founded who were recruited from central North Carolina between 2005 and 2011. Dr. Murphy and her colleagues continue to follow NEST children to determine relationships between prenatal exposures and later health outcomes.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology
·
2014 - Present
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences,
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Chief, Division of Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
·
2017 - Present
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences,
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Associate Professor in Pathology
·
2012 - Present
Pathology,
Clinical Science Departments
Associate Professor in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences
·
2025 - Present
Environmental Natural Science,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
1998 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Cannabidiol and neurodevelopment: Is perception outpacing proof?
Journal Article Current Opinion in Toxicology · March 1, 2026 Cannabidiol (CBD) use has rapidly increased among adolescents, young adults, and pregnant individuals over the last decade. This trend is, in part, fueled by the perception of CBD as relatively harmless, a notion bolstered by its nonpsychoactive nature and ... Full text CitePrenatal Cannabis and Tobacco: Studies in Animal Models.
Journal Article Adv Exp Med Biol · 2026 Prenatal exposure to cannabis and tobacco can significantly disrupt critical stages of fetal development, resulting in long-lasting consequences for offspring's health. Prenatal THC exposure has been shown to impair offspring neurodevelopment, alter metabo ... Full text Link to item CiteAge-specific DNA methylation alterations in sperm at imprint control regions may contribute to the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
Journal Article Aging (Albany NY) · December 29, 2025 Research findings suggest that advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The biological process behind this father-to-child inheritance of a disease may be driven by sperm epigenetic marks. Th ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Duke Women's Reproductive Health Research Scholars
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2020 - 2030Duke-NCCU Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Training Program in Child Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Program (DN-IPT)
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2024 - 2029Duke University Program in Environmental Health
Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · 2019 - 2029View All Grants
Recent Artistic Works
How Epigenetics Influences the Risk of Disease
Digital Media January 1, 2014 Germline ExposuresView All Artistic Works
Education
Wake Forest University ·
1998
Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Charlotte ·
1992
B.A.