Undergraduate Degree: B.Sc. Biochemistry and Microbiology

                                              University of Iowa

                                              Iowa City, Iowa 2005

 

Post Graduate Degree: Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics 

                                            University of Minnesota - Twin Cities 2012

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Current Fellowship: Minnesota Obesity Prevention Training program (MnOPT), Department of Epidemiology 

 

Lab Project(s):

1. Determine the role of cardiac macrophages in heart failure

2. Evaluate the impact of obesity on cardiac macrophage response in heart failure

3. Assess the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on cardiac macrophages

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Publications:

• Murphy KA, Lechner MG, Popescu FE, Bedi J, Decker SA, Hu P, Erickson JR, O’Sullivan MG, Swier L, Salazar AM, Olin MR, Epstein AL, Ohlfest JR. An in vivo immunotherapy screen of costimulatory molecules identifies Fc- OX40L as a potent reagent for the treatment of established murine gliomas. Clin Cancer Res. 2012 Sep 1;18(17):4657-4668.

• Lechner MG, Karimi SS, Barry-Holson K, Angell TE, Murphy KA, Church CH, Ohlfest JR, Hu P, Epstein AL.  Immunogenicity of murine solid tumor models as a defining feature of in vivo behavior and response to immunotherapy.  Journal of Immunother. 2013 Nov-Dec;36(9):477-89.

• Murphy KA, Erickson JR, Johnson CS, Seiler CE, Bedi J, Hu P, Pluhar, GE, Epstein AL, Ohlfest JR.  CD8-independent tumor regression induced by Fc-OX40L and therapeutic vaccination in a mouse model of glioma.  The Journal of Immunol. 2014 Jan 1; 192(1):224-33.              *Selected as a featured article in the January 1 issue, see J Immunol. 2014; 192:1-2.

• Murphy KA, James BR, Guan Y, Torry DS, Wilber A, Griffith TS. Opportunities to exploit natural anti-tumor immunity for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Human Vaccin Immunother. 2015; 11(7): 161-20

• Brincks EL, Kucaba TA, James BR, Murphy KA, Shwertfeger KL, Sangwan V, Banerjee S, Saluja, AK, Griffith TS.  Triptolide Enhances the Tumoricidal Activity of TRAIL Against Renal Cell Carcinoma.  FEBS J. 2015 Dec; 282(24):4747-65.

• Cabrera-Perez J, Babcock JC, Thamotharampillai D, Murphy KA, Kucaba TA, Badovinac VP, Griffith TS. Gut microbial membership modulates T cell repertoire reconstitution after sepsis. The Journal of Immunol. 2016 Sep 1;197(5):1692-8.

• Murphy KA, Griffith TS.  CD8 T cell–independent antitumor response and its potential for treatment of malignant gliomas. Cancers 2016 Jul 27;8(8):71.

• Murphy KA, James BR, Wilber A, Griffith TS. A syngeneic mouse model of metastatic renal cell carcinoma for quantitative and longitudinal assessment of pre-clinical therapies. J Vis Exp. 2016 (122), e55080.

• Murphy KA, James BR, Sjaastad FV, Kucaba TA, Kim H, Brincks EL, Chua SC Jr, Wilber A, Griffith TS.  Cutting Edge: Elevated leptin during diet-induced obesity reduces the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy. The Journal of Immunol. 2018 Oct; 201(7):1837-1841.