Susan K Murphy, a phenomenal mentor. Taken from obgyn.duke.edu
Susan K Murphy received her undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from UNC-Charlotte. She then went on to graduate school at Wake Forest University and studied Virology(study of viruses) , where she received her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. She initially wanted to focus on vaccine development, but during her time in graduate school her son suffered from a rare form of liver cancer, causing Dr. Murphy to shift gears in her research and pursue a path more relevant to cancer research. Dr. Murphy’s postdoctoral research was done here at Duke, in Dr. Randy Jirtle’s laboratory where she studied genomic imprinting and epigenetics. Because she was studying the imprinting of a gene that was highly expressed in ovarian tissue, she ended up with an offer for a faculty position in Gynecologic Oncology here at Duke, where she studies how epigenetic factors influence early stages of ovarian cancer.
This is not the first time that Dr. Murphy has taught someone. While Dr. Murphy used to “panic at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people”, she found out that she enjoys teaching students and appreciates the curiosity that they display. She has given guest lectures at a number of courses here at Duke.
Outside of her love for the lab, Dr. Murphy loves animals. Her family has always had pets of one sort or another. When she was about 12, her brother had 2 boa constrictors, a reticulated python and an Indian python which she took care of. Her mother raised “teddy bear” hamsters and her family would go to many of the local pet shops every weekend to buy supplies. After high school, she spent 10 years working before she went back to college, where she ended up working as a pet store manager and developed a love for fish and birds, and she still has fish and birds today (a 48-year old parrot, 3 cockatiels, 2 of which she hand raised, and 2 parakeets), She volunteered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before and after it opened, initially helping to raise sea otters, then as a docent in the aviary and the microscope lab; She also worked as a shelter manager for the Monterey County SPCA; when I moved to North Carolina I worked at a veterinary office for 5 years, assisting with all forms of animal care – including surgeries and cleaning dog’s and cat’s teeth.