After graduating Cum Laude from Florida State University, Dr. Murphy completed medical school, a psychiatric residency, and graduate training in child psychiatry at the University of Florida. She joined the Faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida in 1994. She is board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and general psychiatry. She is currently director of the University of Florida's Child Anxiety and Tic Disorder Clinic and is actively involved in teaching psychiatry residents and medical students in the specialized areas of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, various other anxiety disorders, and tic disorders. She is conducting research in the areas of pediatric psychopharmacology and infection-related childhood neuropsychiatric illnesses.

Clinical Interests

Since joining the Department of Psychiatry Dr. Murphy has fulfilled the duties of Medical Director for Child Psychiatry Outpatient and Inpatient Services, Director of the University of Florida Child and Adolescent Outpatient Services, and Medical Director of UF’s Residential Treatment and Evaluation Unit for Autism. She currently serves as Director of the UF Child Anxiety and Tic Disorder Clinic. Her areas of clinical interest include the specialized areas of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, various other anxiety disorders, and tic disorders.

Research Interests and Scholarly Interests

Dr. Murphy's current research efforts are aimed at understanding the role of infections in the onset of childhood psychiatric disorders. The welding of modern immunological techniques with developmental neuropsychiatric disorders is fertile ground for study. The PANDAS construct is a fine example of a hypothesis driven disease model that includes consideration of both genetic vulnerability and environmental antecedents.

Dr. Murphy was recently awarded an NIMH K23 grant for 5 years, ($750,000) to study and research the Neuroimmunology of Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Disorders. She is a co-investigator on a R01 for the Prospective Study of PANDAS. In 1999, she was awarded a Senior Travel Award by the Anxiety Disorders of America Association. In 2001, she was nominated to the National Tourette Syndrome Association Medical Advisory Board and Regional Obsessive Compulsive Foundation Scientific Advisory Board. She also served as Guest Editor for CNS Spectrums' issue on Neuroimmunology and has been a reviewer for several psychiatry journals such as Biological Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatry Research. She is a member of the Society for Biological Psychiatry, Tourette Syndrome Association, and Obsessive Compulsive Foundation.

Educational Interests and Accomplishments

Dr. Murphy regularly provides clinical teaching to residents and medical students. For formal didactics, she has taught Third Year Medical Students on the subject of Childhood Psychiatric Disorders, Pediatric Psychopharmacology to Psychology Graduate students, PGY2 Residents (6-8) and Child Psychiatry Fellows. She has spent several hours teaching Child and Adolescent Development and Psychopathology to Child Psychiatry Fellows and Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergencies to PGY 1 and 2 Residents.

In 1999, Dr. Murphy was a recipient of an NIMH K30 Advanced Postgraduate Program in Clinical Investigation Dean's Award that provided $80,000 in salary support. Continuing to take classes in the Advanced Postgraduate Program in Clinical Investigation (APPCI) from July of 1999 to December 2002, Dr. Murphy has had the opportunity to take graduate level coursework in such areas as statistics, research ethics, immunology, microbiology, grant-writing, etc. and to perform research under the supervision of a mentor. In 2002, she completed a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation.

Leadership And Service

From 1990-1992, Dr. Murphy served as a member of the Residency Selection Committee for the Department of Psychiatry and from 1991-1993 as a member on the Graduate Education Committee. She also served on the Committee on the Family (92-94), Undergraduate Education Committee ('94-present), Faculty Compensation Committee (1996), and the Search Committee for Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry (1997-1998). She was a Residency Coordinator from 1993 to 1994. In addition, she was part of the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Restructuring Committee as well as a member of the Resident Education Psychopharmacology Group. She has been a Mental Illness Non-Discrimination Regional Co-Coordinator, been a grant reviewer for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and been an active speaker to national, state, and local groups on immunologic-based childhood psychiatric disorders. She served on the NIH Roundtable for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus in June 2000. In 2001, Dr. Murphy was named to the Medical Advisory Board of the National Tourette Syndrome Association.