Dr. Verena Murphy is the Head of Research and Business Development in Cancer Trials Ireland. She has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and worked at a variety of academic and clinical research laboratories in Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Ireland with a focus on cancer research.
In Nov 2009, she took up a position as Translational Research Coordinator in the strategic research cluster Molecular Therapeutics for Cancer Ireland (MTCI) directed by Prof John Crown and started working in this capacity in the All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group (ICORG), today Cancer Trials Ireland, a charity focused on academic clinical trials in cancer. In 2015, she became Clinical Programme Leader, and in 2017 Translational Research Leader, working on the oversight and execution of operational strategies for multiple programs in the oncology portfolio. Since 2018 she is a member of the leadership team and involved in the development of new strategic directions and programs. In 2019, Verena was promoted to Head of Research and Business Development and became the contact point for academic cancer researchers and external stakeholders (funders, collaborative groups, and industry). Together with senior management she developed the recent successful Cancer Trials Ireland application for a new 5-year funding cycle awarded by the Health Research Board in Dec 2021.