Michael L. M. Murphy, Ph.D.

Research Interests

My research interests are interdisciplinary, lying at the intersection of health, clinical, and social psychology, as well as immunology and microbiology. Humans are fundamentally social beings, and our connections with other can both provide us with opportunities for support and nurturance as well as be potent sources of stress and pain. I conduct research that tries to uncover the psychological and biological mechanisms through which our social relationships affect our physical and psychological health and well-being. I am particularly interested in understanding the role our immune system plays in linking problems we experience within our social relationships to our health.

Publications

Murphy, M. L. M., Sichko, S., Bui, T. Q., Libowitz, M. R., Shields, G. S., & Slavich, G. M. (2023). Intergenerational transmission of lifetime stressor exposure in adolescent girls at differential maternal risk for depression. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 79(2), 431-448. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23417

Cohen, S., Murphy, M. L. M., & Prather, A. A. (2019). Ten surprising facts about stressful life events and disease risk. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 577-597. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102857

Murphy, M. L. M., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Cohen, S. (2018). Receiving a hug is associated with the attenuation of negative mood that occurs on days with interpersonal conflict. PLOS ONE, 13, e0203522. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203522

Crittenden, C. N., Murphy, M. L. M., & Cohen, S. (2018). Social integration and age-related decline in lung function. Health Psychology, 37, 472-480. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000592

Chin, B., Murphy, M. L. M., & Cohen, S. (2018). Age moderates the association between social integration and diurnal cortisol measures. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 90, 102-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.008

Murphy, M. L. M., Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Doyle, W. J. (2017). Offspring of parents who were separated and not speaking to one another have reduced resistance to the common cold as adults. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114, 6515-6520. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700610114

Cohen, S., Chin, B., Murphy, M. L. M., & Janicki-Deverts, D. (2017). A lesson in controlling for third factors and reading before you write: A reply to Giannouli. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 81, 158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.02.032

Chin, B., Murphy, M. L. M., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Cohen, S. (2017). Marital status as a predictor of diurnal salivary cortisol output and slopes in a community sample of healthy adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 78, 68-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.016

Boggero, I. A., Hostinar, C. E., Haak, E. A., Murphy, M. L. M., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2017). Psychosocial functioning and the cortisol awakening response: Meta-analysis, P-curve analysis, and evaluation of the evidential value in existing studies. Biological Psychology, 129, 207-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.08.058

Murphy, M. L. M., Slavich, G. M., Chen, E., & Miller, G. E. (2015). Targeted rejection predicts decreased anti-inflammatory gene expression and increased symptom severity in youth with asthma. Psychological Science, 26, 111-121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614556320

Ross, K. M., Murphy, M. L. M., Adam, E. K., Chen, E., & Miller, G. E. (2014). How stable are diurnal cortisol activity indices in healthy participants? Evidence from three multi-wave studies. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 39, 184-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.09.016

Miller, G. E., Murphy, M. L. M., Cashman, R., Ma, R., Ma, J., Arevalo, J. M. G., Kobor, M. S., & Cole, S. W. (2014). Greater inflammatory activity and blunted glucocorticoid signaling in monocytes of chronically stressed caregivers. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 41, 191-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2014.05.016

Murphy, M. L. M., Slavich, G. M., Rohleder, N., & Miller, G. E. (2013). Targeted rejection triggers differential pro- and anti-inflammatory gene expression in adolescents as a function of social status. Clinical Psychological Science, 1, 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702612455743

Murphy, M. L. M., Miller, G. E., & Wrosch, C. (2013). Conscientiousness and stress exposure and reactivity: A prospective study of adolescent females. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 36, 153-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-012-9408-2

Tomfohr, L. M., Murphy, M. L. M., Miller, G. E., & Puterman, E. (2011). Multiwave associations between depressive symptoms and endothelial function in young adult females. Psychosomatic Medicine, 73, 456-461. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182228644

Vitaliano, P. P., Murphy, M., Young, H. M., Echeverria, D., & Borson, S. (2011). Does caring for a spouse with dementia promote cognitive decline? A hypothesis and proposed mechanisms. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 59, 900-908. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03368.x