Helen Murphy, PhD

Biography

Dr. Murphy received her B.S. in Biology at Notre Dame College and M.S. in Biology from John Carroll University.  She was awarded a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology at Illinois Institute of Psychology.  At the suggestion of her JCU master’s thesis advisor, she applied for a faculty position in the Department of Psychology at JCU.  She attained that position and has remained at JCU since that time.  Dr. Murphy was the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Faculty Award at John Carroll University.  In a Capital Fund-raising Campaign at John Carroll University, an anonymous donor contributed $100,000 for naming rights for the Dr. Helen M. Murphy and Dr. Cyrilla H. Wideman Neuroscience Suite in the new Dolan Center for Science and Technology.  With Dr. Cyrilla Wideman of the Department of Biology, Dr. Murphy introduced the Neuroscience Concentration at JCU in 1979.  It was the first interdisciplinary academic program in the sciences at JCU and it is one of the oldest undergraduate Neuroscience Programs in the United States.  Drs. Murphy and Wideman began taking their neuroscience students to undergraduate conferences where they could present material on their independent research projects in 1979.   In 1988, they initiated their yearly participation in the Eastern Colleges Science Conference (ECSC).  For the past 31 years, their students have received the highest award at this conference for a manuscript based upon their neuroscience research in Biology, Chemistry and/or Psychology.  Dr. Murphy is a Board Member of the Eastern Colleges Science Conference.  For several years, Dr. Murphy conducted individually directed 8-day retreats centering on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola for JCU students.  At a Jesuit Higher Education Assembly held at Georgetown University, she presented a paper on this experience as a director and, later published an article in Review for Religious entitled: “A ‘FAM’ Trip Through the Spiritual Exercises”.  Dr. Murphy has published numerous research articles and presented these findings at national and international meetings.

Teaching Interests

• Psychobiology
• Drugs and Behavior
• Psychopharmacology
• Mind, Brain, and Behavior
• Independent Research in Neuroscience

Research Interests

• Neuroscience
• Circadian rhythms
• Neuroendocrinological bases of behavior
• Psychopharmacology

The major research interest is in the area of neuroscience.  One thrust of the research investigates physiological, biochemical, and behavioral phenomena observed under conditions of normal and disrupted circadian rhythms in the mammalian organism.  Biotelemetry is a tool utilized to examine the circadian rhythms of some of these variables.  Another research emphasis is on the effects of various psychotropic drugs on the above parameters.

Awards and Recognition  

• John Carroll University Distinguished Faculty Award, 1980
• $30,000 grant with Dr. C. Wideman, to develop an “Animal Model of Anorexia Nervosa”, 1989
• In 1993, $186,000 Johnson & Johnson Focused Giving Grant with Dr. Wideman to study “Vasopressin and Circadian Rhythms”, 1993
• $100,000 anonymous donation for naming rights for the Dr. Helen M. Murphy and Dr. Cyrilla H. Wideman Neuroscience Suite in the new Dolan Center for Science and Technology with financial support of ongoing research by Drs. Murphy and Wideman, 2003
• Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine feature article focused on the research about circadian rhythms.conducted by Drs. Murphy and Wideman, 2003   
• Eastern Colleges Science Conference (ECSC) Travel Grants ($1000 each year) for Neuroscience faculty and students, 2017-19
• Eastern Colleges Science Conference (ECSC), First place/Excellence awards to Neuroscience students under the guidance of Drs. Murphy and Wideman, 31 consecutive years, 1988-2019

Professional Associations

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Association for Psychological Science – (Charter Member) - (Formerly, American Psychological Society)
• Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
• International Behavioral Neuroscience
• International Brain Research Organization
• International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology
• International Union of Physiological Sciences
• Kappa Gamma Pi
• Midwestern Psychological Association
• New York Academy of Sciences
• Ohio Academy of Science
• Psychonomic Society
• Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
• Society for Neuroscience
• Society for Research on Biological Rhythms
• Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior
• Society of Heart-Brain Medicine (Charter Member)
• The International Neuropeptide Society (Charter Member)
• World Federation of Neuroscientists
• World Stress Society (Charter Member)

Selected Publications

Drs. Murphy and Wideman have over 200 published abstracts of presentations at regional, national and international conferences and have co-authored over 40 full-length peer-reviewed publications including:

• Warner T. A., Baumann, M. T.  Wideman, C. H. and Murphy, H. M., The Role of Olanzapine Relating to Nutritional and Activity Measures in Male and Female Rats. Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research, 14: 219-226, 2016. 
• Murphy, H. M., Ekstrand, D., Tarchick, M., and Wideman, C. H., Modafinil as a Cognitive Enhancer of Spatial Working Memory in Rats. Physiology and Behavior 142: 126-130, 2015.
• Wideman, C. H., Cierniak, K. H., Sweet, W. E.,   Moravec, C. S., and Murphy, H. M., An Animal Model of   Stress-Induced Cardiomyopathy Utilizing the Social   Defeat Paradigm.  Physiology & Behavior 120:220-227, 2013.
• Murphy, H. M., Ihekoronze, C., & Wideman, C.H. (2011)  Zolpidem-induced changes in activity, metabolism and anxiety in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 98, 81-86.
• Wideman, C.H. & Murphy, H.M. (2009)  Constant light induces alterations in melatonin levels, food intake, feed efficiency, visceral adiposity, and circadian rhythms in rats. Nutritional Neuroscience, 12, 233-240.