Cheryl Murphy

Cheryl Murphy, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University (MSU) and Director of the Center for PFAS Research. She holds affiliations with the Institute for Integrative Toxicology, Center for Water Sciences, Environmental Science and Public Policy program, and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program. Her research focuses on linking molecular-level contaminant effects to population-level outcomes in aquatic organisms, particularly fish. She earned her Ph.D. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University (2006), M.S. in Cell Biology and Physiology from the University of Alberta (1998), and B.S. in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University (1993).

Dr. Murphy’s work emphasizes improving toxicity evaluation frameworks, advancing the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) model, and addressing PFAS contamination through interdisciplinary approaches. She leads projects on PFAS toxicity assessment, chemical mixture impacts, and ecological risk modeling. Her grants include studies on PFAS effects in agriculture, fish behavior, and remediation strategies at Grand Rapids Airport. She teaches courses like Ecophysiology and Toxicology of Fishes and New Approaches to Ecological Risk Assessment.

Her research bridges laboratory studies with field data and modeling, aiming to solve environmental ecotoxicology challenges. The Center for PFAS Research, under her leadership, positions MSU as a global leader in PFAS research. Notable recent work includes linking neurotoxicant effects on gene expression to population outcomes and developing frameworks to assess chemical mixtures’ ecological risks.