Dr Murphy is a Lecturer in Molecular Diagnostics and Bioinformatics in the School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences. She is also a Research Leader in the SFI centre for Machine Learning. Prior to joining TU Dublin in 2018, Dr Murphy studied at Trinity College Dublin, where she graduated with a BA in Genetics (2005), a PGDip in Statistics (2008) and a PhD in Molecular Medicine (2010). Subsequently, she was awarded a post-doctoral Newman fellowship from UCD, where her post-doctoral research focused on neuropsychiatric epigenomics. In 2013, she took up a position of Research Fellow at the Complex Disease Epigenetics group at the University of Exeter, and subsequently was awarded a Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation (USA) and in 2015 was appointed tenured Lecturer in School of Medicine.

Dr Murphy has obtained fellowship of the higher education academy and is programme chair for the new MSc in Data Analytics and Precision Diagnostics. 

Dr. Murphy's research group is dedicated to advancing the field of epigenomics, with a particular focus on understanding how epigenetic aberrations contribute to the pathogenesis of complex diseases. The group is also committed to leveraging these insights to develop novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers. Recently, Dr. Murphy's research has pivoted to integrate machine learning (ML) with epigenomics, recognizing ML's potential to uncover novel epigenomic biomarkers. The group’s recent publication in *BMC Bioinformatics* (Doherty et al., 2023) introduced a robust methodology to identify epigenomic predictors of biological aging, applicable to a range of disease phenotypes. This ML-driven methodology is currently being applied to discover novel blood-based biomarkers for various diseases.

To date, Dr. Murphy has secured over €500,000 in funding from prestigious organisations, including Research Ireland (formerly Science Foundation Ireland), the Brain and Behaviour Foundation (USA), and the Medical Research Council. Dr. Murphy has successfully supervised three postgraduate students to completion and currently supervises one PhD student. Her leadership in genomics and bioinformatics is widely recognized, demonstrated through roles on expert review panels (Flanders Research Foundation), guest lectures (HSE National Centre for Genetics and Genomics – Fundamentals in Genetic Testing), and as External Examiner for the MSc in Genomics Medicine at the University of Exeter. Furthermore, Dr. Murphy serves as a committee member for the Irish Association for Human Genetics. Her commitment to research excellence was recently acknowledged with a nomination for the ‘One to Watch’ award at the inaugural 2023 TU Dublin Research and Innovation Awards.

Dr. Murphy makes significant contributions to a variety of postgraduate and degree programs at TU Dublin, spanning disciplines such as the MSc in Data Analytics and Precision Diagnostics, MSc in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, BSc in Biomedical and Molecular Diagnostics, BSc in Medical Science, and BSc in Biomolecular Science. Dr. Murphy is particularly passionate about her role as the Professional Placements Coordinator for the BSc in Biomedical and Molecular Diagnostics, where she engages with the Biomedical and Molecular Diagnostics industries in Ireland.

Before assuming her current role, Dr. Murphy was a Lecturer in Biomedical Science at the University of Exeter, where she played a key role in developing the MSc in Genomics Medicine program. As the Module Coordinator for the Epigenomics in Health and Disease module, Dr. Murphy was instrumental in delivering high-quality, comprehensive education in this specialised area of genomics.

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Machine learning applications in Epigenomics

Doherty T. (Author), Delany SJ. (Supervisor) and Murphy T. (Supervisor), March 2025

Examining epigenetic variation in the brain in mental illness

Policicchio S. (Author), Emma Dempster (Supervisor), Murphy T (Supervisor), December 2020

Student thesis: Mphil Thesis

Investigating the role of schizophrenia-associated gene expression in the developing human brain using Machine Learning

Kelly K. (Author), Murphy T (Supervisor), Hickey E (Supervisor), December 2021