Cheryl Murphy
Director of the Center for PFAS Research | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Cheryl Murphy is well-versed in reproductive physiology, behavior, ecology, toxicology, and modeling.
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Biography
Dr. Murphy is a professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. She is also an affiliate for the Center for Integrative Toxicology, Center for Water Sciences, the Environmental Science and Public Policy program and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program. Her current research focuses on how information collected on an individual translates across higher levels of biological organization. Using fish as a model organism, she explores how changes in gene expression and the physiological processes occurring within an individual translate to behavioral changes and ecologically relevant endpoints such as reproduction and growth, how short term phenotypic changes in expressed traits alter long term genetic change and affect life history traits, and how anthropogenic influences such as contaminants and other stressors impact such relationships and affect populations or communities of fish. Much of her work is dedicated to improving the way we evaluate the toxicity of chemicals, and her research advances the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework. Currently she founded and is directing the Center for PFAS Research, and is devising new methods to assess the toxicity of PFAS mixtures as well as facilitating research teams to address PFAS contamination issues.
Dr. Murphy is well-versed in various subjects such as reproductive physiology, behavior, ecology, toxicology, and modeling, and can provide links between the different disciplines. Her overall goal is to bridge laboratory work with field sampling and modeling to address issues in environmental ecotoxicology.
Areas of Expertise (8)
PFAS
Environmental Policy
Toxic Substances
Environmental Contamination
Reproductive Physiology
Environmental Modeling
Toxicology
Ecology
Education (3)
Louisiana State University: Ph.D., Oceanography and Coastal Sciences 2006
University of Alberta: M.S., Physiology and Cell Biology 1998
Dalhousie University: B.S., Marine Biology 1993
Links (3)
News (5)
New EPA PFAS ruling: MSU experts provide overview of changes
MSU Today online
2024-04-11
Cheryl Murphy, director of the MSU Center for PFAS Research, and professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and College of Agriculture and Natural Science “The new PFAS regulations suggest that PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and a few other chemicals should not be detected in drinking water because the limits are set at detection limits. This regulation suggests that measurable levels are unsafe for human consumption. Having federal regulations will ensure widespread testing, and the designation of a hazardous substance should free up resources to deal with remediation efforts. While these rules apply to drinking water, eventually the attention will focus on contamination in our lakes and rivers and should lead to a reduction in levels that impact our fish and wildlife resources.”
Scientists alarmed by high levels of toxic forever chemicals in fish
Midland Daily News online
2024-04-11
“There’s a lot we don’t know” about PFAS and their effects, said Cheryl Murphy, the director of the Center for PFAS Research at Michigan State University. “We are starting to get a handle on a little bit of it, but there’s still lots to do.”
Researcher sheds light on PFAS concerns and urges action at IAFP Conference
Food Safety News online
2023-07-18
TORONTO — Cheryl Murphy, a researcher from the Michigan State University (MSU) Center for PFAS Research, delivered a presentation on the persistent issue of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) conference here.
PFAS is a widespread problem. The solution needs to come from widespread sources
Great Lakes Now online
2022-04-12
PFAS research is still in the early stages, which means issues with PFAS crop up all the time to surprise researchers like Michigan State University professor Cheryl Murphy.
New MSU research details lake trout reproductive response to sea lamprey parasitism
Michigan State University online
2022-01-13
Since spawning typically occurs for both siscowets and leans in early October, researchers monitored each fish from mid-September to early November following parasitism. The volume of eggs or milt — the sperm-containing fluid — was measured for each lake trout, and those that did not produce eggs or milt were considered to have skipped spawning. “Leans produced more eggs than siscowets per gram of body weight, regardless of parasitism status,” Murphy said. “All female leans produced eggs as well, which tells us that one of their responses is to reproduce to ensure the next generation.”
Journal Articles (5)
Impacts on Atlantic Killifish from Neurotoxicants: Genes, Behavior, and Population-Relevant Outcomes
Environmental Science & Technology2024 Molecular, cellular, and organismal alterations are important descriptors of toxic effects, but our ability to extrapolate and predict ecological risks is limited by the availability of studies that link measurable end points to adverse population relevant outcomes such as cohort survival and growth. In this study, we used laboratory gene expression and behavior data from two populations of Atlantic killifish Fundulus heteroclitus [one reference site (SCOKF) and one PCB-contaminated site (NBHKF)] to inform individual-based models simulating cohort growth and survival from embryonic exposures to environmentally relevant concentrations of neurotoxicants
How model organisms and model uncertainty impact our understanding of the risk of sublethal impacts of toxicants to survival and growth of ecologically relevant species
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry2024 Understanding how sublethal impacts of toxicants affect population‐relevant outcomes for organisms is challenging. We tested the hypotheses that the well‐known sublethal impacts of methylmercury (MeHg) and a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB126) would have meaningful impacts on cohort growth and survival in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) populations, that inclusion of model uncertainty is important for understanding the sublethal impacts of toxicants, and that a model organism (zebrafish Danio rerio) is an appropriate substitute for ecologically relevant species (yellow perch, killifish). Our simulations showed that MeHg did not have meaningful impacts on growth or survival in a simulated environment except to increase survival and growth in low mercury exposures in yellow perch and killifish
The consequences of sea lamprey parasitism on lake trout energy budgets
Conservation Physiology2023 Parasitism is an energetically costly event for host species. Dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory describes the metabolic dynamics of an individual organism through its lifetime. Models derived from DEB theory specify how an organism converts food to reserves (maintenance-free energy available for metabolism) and allocates mobilized reserves to maintenance, growth (increase of structural body mass) and maturation or reproduction. DEB models thus provide a useful approach to describe the consequences of parasitism for host species. We developed a DEB model for siscowet lake trout and modeled the impact of sea lamprey parasitism on growth and reproduction using data collected from studies documenting the long-term effects following a non-lethal sea lamprey attack.
Triple-stage Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer to Determine Ubiquitously Present Per-and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances in Drinking Water at Part Per Trillion Levels Using Solid …
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology2023 An accurate analytical method was developed to determine selected per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) at the level of parts per trillion (ppt or ng/L) in drinking water. The method included a concentration step using solid phase extraction (SPE) approach in combination with a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry system (LC-MS/MS). This method was optimized and validated for the common PFAS contaminants in drinking water. An initial demonstration of capability was established with an acceptable initial calibration, minimum reporting limit (MRL), limit of detection (LOD), initial demonstration of low system background, and initial demonstration of precision (IDP). Isotopically labeled internal standards were used for quantification. Surrogate standards were used to monitor method performance.
The Influence of Life History on the Response to Parasitism: Differential Response to Non-Lethal Sea Lamprey Parasitism by Two Lake Charr Ecomorphs
Integrative and Comparative Biology2022 The energetic demands of stressors like parasitism require hosts to reallocate energy away from normal physiological processes to survive. Life history theory provides predictions about how hosts will reallocate energy following parasitism, but few studies provide empirical evidence to test these predictions. We examined the sub-lethal effects of sea lamprey parasitism on lean and siscowet lake charr, two ecomorphs with different life history strategies. Leans are shorter lived, faster growing, and reach reproductive maturity earlier than siscowets. Following a parasitism event of 4 days, we assessed changes to energy allocation by monitoring endpoints related to reproduction, energy storage, and growth. Results indicate that lean and siscowet lake charr differ considerably in their response to parasitism.
