Rate My Professor Daniel Murphy

Professor Daniel Murphy is Professor of Lung Cancer & Mesothelioma in the School of Cancer Sciences at the University of Glasgow, affiliated with the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Bearsden. He was awarded his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2000 and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, with Professor Gerard Evan. In 2008, he launched his independent research group at the University of Würzburg in Germany, moving to the University of Glasgow and Beatson Institute in 2012, where he advanced to full Professor in 2020. Previously recognized as a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Cancer Sciences, his career trajectory reflects sustained contributions to cancer research.

Murphy's laboratory employs genetically engineered mouse models to elucidate the biology of thoracic cancers, focusing on lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Key research themes include early disease mechanisms, tumour-immune and fibroblast crosstalk, oxidative stress, Hippo pathway signaling, kinase adaptations, and dysregulated translation. He leads workpackages in the CRUK-funded PREDICT-Meso consortium for early mesothelioma detection, participates in the UKRI-MRC National Mouse Genetics Network, and contributes to the CRUK Scotland Centre. His efforts have attracted significant funding from Cancer Research UK, the European Commission, the British Lung Foundation, and the Medical Research Council, supporting innovative preclinical studies addressing Scotland's asbestos legacy.

With over 50 peer-reviewed publications, Murphy's impactful work features in top journals such as Nature Communications, Cancer Discovery, and EMBO Journal. Seminal papers include "The pathogenesis of mesothelioma is driven by a dysregulated translatome" (2021), "Repression of the type I interferon pathway underlies MYC & KRAS-dependent evasion of NK & B cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma" (2020), "Asbestos accelerates disease onset in a genetic model of malignant pleural mesothelioma" (Frontiers in Toxicology, 2023), "NUAK1 governs centrosome replication in pancreatic cancer via MYPT1/PP1β and GSK3β-dependent regulation of PLK4" (Molecular Oncology, 2023), and "NUAK: never underestimate a kinase" (Essays in Biochemistry, 2024). His models and findings advance therapeutic strategies for untreatable cancers.