Biography

After completing a Health Research Board 4-Year PhD at Trinity College Dublin I was awarded a Craig-Dobbin Newman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Research by University College Dublin to study with Professor of Psychiatry, Kevin Malone. In 2013, I joined Professor Jonathan Mill’s Psychiatric Epigenetics Group at the University of Exeter as a Research Fellow. In 2015, I was appointed Lecturer in Biomedical Science at the University of Exeter Medical School and started an independent research programme examining the role of epigenetic mechanisms in Major Depression and Suicidal Behaviour. In autumn 2018, I returned to Ireland I took up the position of Assistant Lecturer at the School of Biological and Health Sciences, Technological University Dublin.

Qualifications

Postgraduate Cert. Academic Practice, PhD, Postgraduate Dip. Statistics, BA (Honors) Genetics

Research Themes

My research is focussed on studying gene regulation mechanisms of complex diseases, with a special interest in major depression and suicidal behaviour.  

Keywords

Epigenetics, DNA methylation, Gene regulation, Complex disease phenotypes

Key Publications

Policicchio S, Dempster E, Murphy TM. Deciphering the Epigenetic Landscape of Suicidal Behaviour: A Review of Current Findings, Caveats and Future Directions. OBM Genetics (2018), 2 (4). 

Crawford B, Craig Z, Smith S, Hannon E, Mullins N, Imm J, Lewis C, et al, Murphy TM. Methylomic and inflammation marker profiles associated with a history of depression. Human Molecular Genetics, 2018 15;27(16):2840-2850

Murphy TM, Crawford B, Dempster EL, Hannon E, Burrage J, Turecki G, Kaminsky Z, Mill J. Methylomic profiling of cortex samples from completed suicide cases implicates a role for PSORS1C3 in major depression and suicide. Translational Psychiatry, (2017), 7 (1), e989.

McDermott E, Ryan E, Burrage J, Crowe E, Malone KM, Mill J, Mulcahy H*, Murphy TM*. Methylomic profiling in Inflammatory Bowel Disease provides new insights into disease pathogenesis and activity. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, (2016), 10(1): 77-86.

Hannon E, Spiers H, Viana J, Pidsley R, Burrage J, Murphy TM, Troakes C, Turecki G, O'Donovan M, Schalkwyk LC, Bray NJ, J Mill . Methylation QTLs in the developing brain and their enrichment in schizophrenia risk loci. Nature Neuroscience (2016) 19 (1): 48-54.

Murphy TM, Wong CCY, Arseneault L, Burrage J, Macdonald R, Hannon E, Fisher HL, Ambler A, Moffitt TE, Caspi A, Mill J. Methylomic markers of persistent childhood asthma: a longitudinal study of asthma-discordant monozygotic twins. Clinical Epigenetics (2015), 7(1): 1-13.

Murphy TM*, Fisher H*, Joana V, Hannon E, Pidsley R, Burrage J, Dempster E, Wong C, Arseneault L, Moffitt TE, Pariante C, Caspi A , Mill JM. Methylomic analysis of monozygotic twins discordant for childhood psychotic symptoms. Epigenetics. (2015);10(11): 1014-23.* Joint first author.

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK)

• International Society of Psychiatric Genetics

• Irish Society of Human Genetics

External Activities/Outreach

• Honorary Lecturer, University of Exeter

• Review Editor Frontiers in Epigenetics

• Grant Review Panel Member Research Fund - Flanders (FWO): Applied Biomedical Research (2016 - present)

• Ad hoc reviewer (Grants) [Medical Research Council (MRC, UK); Action Medical Research (UK); The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (The Netherlands); Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland)]

• Examiner for a PhD upgrade (University of Exeter) (2017)

Research and Academic Interests

My research is focussed on studying gene regulation mechanisms of complex diseases, with a special interest in major depression and suicidal behaviour. The main research interests of the group are: (1) the role of epigenetic variation in major depression, suicidal behaviour and inflammatory-related disorders, 2) the role of non-coding RNA in the brains of depressed suicide completers; (3) the identification of molecular biomarkers of depression and suicidal behaviour. My research has been supported by a NARSAD young investigator grant award from the brain and behaviour research and Newman’s Craig-Dobbin Fellowship.