Barbara A. Murphy, MD
Professor of Medicine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Murphy was raised in a medical family. Her grandfather, Joseph M. Murphy Sr, attended Georgetown Dental School graduating in 1929, the year of the great depression. (A born and bred Irishman he told many a story about the dire days of the early 1900’s.) Her father, Joseph M. Murphy Jr, attended Cornell Medical School subsequently training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the1960's. Little did he realize that his eldest daughter would follow suit completing her Oncology fellowship at the same institution in 1993. Her grandmother Iola Lee, (a preacher’s daughter) left Gravelswitch Kentucky to attend Nursing School in the 1920's (unacceptable for women of her social stature at that time). Her mother, Cecilia Ann, braved the wards of Bellevue Hospital in New York City to complete her nurses training; her aunt and two cousins also chose careers in the nursing field. Thus, it is obvious why Dr. Murphy chose Oncology: it’s in the genes. In 1993, Dr. Murphy joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University where she serves as the Director of the Pain and Symptom Management Program and the Leader of the Head and Neck team at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. She and her husband Bruce Tripp moved to Huntsville three years ago where they live in a multi-generation home with their daughter Ginger Harper, their son-in-law Daiven Harper and their grandson Annin.

Dr. Murphy has been a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society for decades. She has received ACS grant funding for research projects directed at improving pain outcomes in cancer patients undergoing active treatment as well as funding for the development of self-care programs to minimize late soft tissue effects in head and neck cancer survivors. She has served on the national level as the Chair for the ACS Palliative Care and Symptom Control Grant Review Committee and currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Panel for Extramural Funding. On the Alabama state level, she has been a member of the board as well as the Chair of the inaugural ResearcHERS Fundraising Event. More importantly, she has witnessed the profound benefit of the services provided by the ACS to cancer patients in need of basic support through education, lodging and transportation. Dr. Murphy is truly grateful to the ACS for providing her with the opportunity to give back to the Oncology community and the patients it serves.