For immediate release: March 10, 2008
Contact: Emily Wofford Cobb, Communications Manager
Office 775-784-6006
Mobile 775-338-5119
ecobb@medicine.nevada.edu

William Murphy, Ph.D. named microbiology and immunology department chair

Murphy to assume new role April 1

RENO, Nev.—William Murphy, Ph.D. has been named Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Murphy, who is one of Nevada’s leading cancer research scientists, will assume his new role on April 1.

     Murphy has been a faculty member of the University of Nevada School of Medicine since 2002. Working with numerous graduate and undergraduate students in his laboratory, Murphy’s work focuses on immunotherapy and bone marrow transplantation for cancer patients.

     “We are pleased Dr. Murphy has accepted the microbiology and immunology chair,” said John McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for health sciences and medical school dean. “He is well respected by his colleagues and, given his reputation, we believe has the opportunity to help elevate the national status of our basic sciences. We are confident Dr. Murphy will enjoy the same success as an administrator as he has as a scientist.”

     Murphy’s research is funded by multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants including serving as a co-investigator on a program project grant with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His current research grant dollars total more than a $1 million a year and he serves on several NIH grant-review study sections on cancer research.

     Last year, Murphy’s research detailing the potential negative effects of immune therapy on anti-tumor responses in cancer patients was published in the elite biomedical research journal Nature Medicine. Additionally, this past summer, Murphy participated in an advocacy event in Washington, D.C. organized by the American Association of Cancer Research to promote federal research funding. He was the only cancer researcher from Nevada to attend. Murphy was named a “Healthcare Hero” by the Nevada Business Journal for his work overseeing research into the cause of a childhood leukemia cluster in Fallon, Nevada. He is also a member of the University of Nevada, Reno Research Advisory Council.

     In 2005, Murphy was elected to the National Board of Directors of the American Society for Bone Marrow Transplantation. His work has been published in more than 160 peer-reviewed journals and publications.

     Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Murphy spent 12 years at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). During his time at NCI he became Director of Basic Research at NCI-Frederick in Maryland. He received the NCI-Frederick Mentoring Award in 2000.

     Murphy received his doctorate in immunology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

     Murphy replaces long-time faculty member Tom Kozel, Ph.D. as chair of the school’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Kozel, who held the chair position for nearly 30 years and joined the school in 1971, is an accomplished researcher in his own right. He is one of only three NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award Scientists in the state—an honor awarded to scientists whose research application reviews rank in the top 2 percent of other scientific applications—and has the distinction of being the recipient of the longest standing NIH grant in Nevada. Kozel will remain on the faculty and continue his research activities at the School of Medicine.

As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been a leader in healthcare, medical education and research in Nevada since 1969. The School of Medicine includes 16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and five nationally recognized departments in basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. The more than 185 doctors of University Health System, the school’s clinical practice, offer care in more than 40 medical specialties and subspecialties with eight physician offices in the Reno/Sparks area and seven in Las Vegas. The school is committed to a best practices approach to medicine and is dedicated to exceptional healthcare for Nevada now and in the future. For more information visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.