Dr Murphy is a cancer epidemiologist whose research explores the role of hormones produced within the gastrointestinal tract in the etiology of gastrointestinal cancers. Her field work investigates risk factors for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in east Africa and she has coordinated studies in Malawi and Kenya and is a founding member of the African oEsophageal Cancer Consortium (AfrECC). In recognition of her research, Dr Murphy has received awards including the Cancer Prevention Research Training Merit Award, Fellows Award for Research Excellence, Intramural Research Award and in 2019 she received an Outstanding Mentor Award from the US National Cancer Institute.

Dr Gwen Murphy earned a PhD in Clinical Medicine from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and an MPH from University College Dublin. Dr Murphy joined the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the US National Cancer Institute in 2006, where she remained until 2019. In 2019 she became Executive Director of Epidemiology at LetsGetChecked, Dublin, before joining Imperial College London in 2022.