Hi, I'm Dr. Kathy Murphy
Dr. Kathy Murphy (BVetMed, DPhil, CVA, CLAS, MRCVS) is a veterinary surgeon and neuroscientist who graduated from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1999. She worked in mixed clinical practice before pursuing two postgraduate clinical qualifications with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons: one in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, and the other in Laboratory Animal Science.
In 2009, she was awarded a prestigious Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship to study for her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at The Queens College, University of Oxford, UK.
After graduating, Dr. Murphy began teaching as an assistant professor of Neuroscience and Anesthesiology at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York City, USA. During this time, her research into the long term effects of anaesthesia on learning and memory contributed to a meaningful change to the safety advice for the use of general anaesthesia in children being recommended through organizations such as __________.
In 2013, she moved back to the UK and began working in clinical-academic positions at the University of Oxford and Newcastle University. During this time, she also completed a Residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia with the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. While pursuing her residency, she became increasingly interested in how pain remodels the nervous system, and how these changes can manifest as behavioral concerns in pets. During this time, Dr. Murphy founded Barking Brains, which she now passionately serves as the Director of.
In 2022, she partnered with Behavior Vets based in New York City, USA where she became Chief Scientific Officer prior to recently accepting the position of CEO. Her passion for science and education inspires her work in providing accessible translations of the most current evidence-based research regarding pain, behavior, neurobiology, and how these topics work in conjunction with one another to create behavioral outcomes.
In addition to Dr Murphy's primary career roles, she also served as Trustee and Veterinary Advisor to the Rottweiler Welfare Association for 14 years, and is the co-founder of Ethics First (a collective which lobbies for ethical decision making in clinical practice). She currently serves as an Oversight Committee Member for the UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter, in addition to sitting on numerous National and International boards, working groups and ethical review panels. She is an ad-hoc reviewer for neuroscience, veterinary medicine, anaesthesia and pain journals. Her passion for advancing the scientific understanding of neuroscience and animal behavior is a driving force behind the collaborative research projects which she is involved in.
Dr Murphy lives in the UK with her husband, Elliot, and their dogs Nancy, Zebedee, and Haggis.