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Susan Kay Murphy

Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences
Duke PO Box 90534, the Chesterfield Building, Durham, NC 27701
701 W. Main Street, Suite 510, Room 5140, Durham, NC 27701

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.

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 Science · 2025 - Present Environmental Natural Science, Nicholas School of the Environment
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 1998 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published November 28, 2022
Mom’s Dietary Fat Rewires Male And Female Brains Differently
Published September 23, 2021
Trying to Conceive? Stop Smoking Pot.
Published August 27, 2019
Gene Linked to Autism Undergoes Changes in Men’s Sperm After Pot Use

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Recent Publications


Differential methylation patterns in cord blood associated with prenatal exposure to neighborhood crime: an epigenome-wide association study and regional analysis.

Journal Article Epigenetics · December 2025 Exposure to prenatal social stressors during pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes and has been linked to epigenetic changes in DNA methylation (DNAm); however, less understood is the effect of neighborhood-level stressors like crime during p ... Full text Link to item Cite

Short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances associate with elevated alanine aminotransferase: Cross-sectional analysis results from the STRIVE cohort.

Journal Article Environ Res · June 11, 2025 BACKGROUND: The impact of short-chain, low molecular weight polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and long-chain, high molecular weight PFAS on elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) remains unclear. Additionally, demographic and behavioral factors influencin ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenome-wide differential methylation and differential variability as predictors of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+).

Journal Article Am J Epidemiol · April 8, 2025 CpG site methylation patterns have potential to improve differentiation of high-grade screening-detected cervical abnormalities. We assessed CpG differential methylation (DM) and differential variability (DV) in high-grade (CIN2+) vs low-grade (≤ CIN1) les ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Duke-NCCU Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Training Program in Child Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Program (DN-IPT)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke University Program in Environmental Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · 2019 - 2029

Duke KURe Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2013 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


Wake Forest University · 1998 Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Charlotte · 1992 B.A.