Featuring:

James D. Murphy, MD

James D. Murphy, MD, is a board-certified radiation oncologist who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers. and palliative radiotherapy. Within the radiation oncology team, Dr. Murphy is chief of the Gastrointestinal Tumor Service and chief of palliative radiation therapy.As an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, Dr. Murphy instructs medical students, residents and fellows at UC San Diego School of Medicine. He leads clinical trials involving pancreatic cancer, and serves as the site principal investigator on cooperative group trials, which are part of the National Cancer Institute-sponsored program.

Dr. Murphy oversees an active health outcomes research group (see his lab for more information). His ongoing health outcomes projects include identifying and reducing health disparity, creating patient-based risk assessment tools, and defining the patterns of radiation care across the US on a population-based level. He is also a core faculty member of the CREST program within UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, and teaches courses in health services research and clinical decision analysis.Dr. Murphy has co-authored many abstracts and has published over 60 journal articles. His work has appeared in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Cancer, among others. He serves as a reviewer for numerous medical journals, and serves as an editor for the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, also known as the Red Journal.He completed his radiation oncology residency at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Murphy earned his medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School. He is board-certified in radiation oncology.

Dr. Murphy is a member of numerous medical societies, including the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology, the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Radiological Society of North America and the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology.Outside of work, Dr. Murphy enjoys cycling, hiking, snowboarding, surfing, sailing and medical statistics. Dr. Murphy’s wife, Heidi, is a palliative care physician for UC San Diego Health, and they have a daughter, Laura, and a son, William.