UB Researcher Named Inaugural Head of Medical School's Clinical and Translational Research Program

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Timothy F. Murphy, M.D., University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine and an internationally recognized expert in respiratory tract bacterial infections, has been appointed to the new position of senior associate dean for clinical and translational research in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

In announcing this inaugural appointment, Michael E. Cain, M.D., dean of the UB medical school said: "Dr. Murphy possesses the administrative, scientific, leadership and visionary skills needed to work with clinical and basic science researchers to enhance the discipline of clinical and translational science, and to address the growing barriers that have arisen due to the ever increasing complexities involved in conducting clinical research."

Murphy will oversee the development and implementation of strategies to synergize the development of clinical and translational science within the university.

"It is our desire to create an environment that takes the application of new knowledge and techniques to clinical practice at the front lines of patient care," said Cain.

Murphy currently is chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He specializes in vaccine development against pathogens responsible for otitis media (ear infections, primarily affecting children) and lower respiratory tract infections in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

He is co-principal investigator on a 14-year clinical study of COPD, the longest-standing study of the disease, which he is conducting at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Department of Veteran Affairs has funded his work continuously since 1994.

Murphy will continue his basic research program while assuming the new position, and will move his laboratory to UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. His research is funded by two RO1 grants from the National Institutes of Health.

In 2008, Murphy was appointed a peer reviewer in the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Research and Field Studies of Infectious Diseases Study Section, a position he will hold until June 30, 2011. He also chairs the Infectious Diseases B Study Section of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Murphy received his bachelor's degree from New York University and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed a fellowship in infectious diseases at Tufts before taking a position at UB in 1981. He was named chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Hospital in 1990 and of UB's Infectious Diseases Division in 1993. In 1995-96 he was a visiting professor in the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of Canberra, Australia.

He has published more than 150 articles in refereed journals and holds more than a dozen patents related to vaccine development. He has been a reviewer for 20 medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association, and has held numerous positions on national committees and councils.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.