Following two years of work experience she joined the Biogeochemical Reactions in Estuaries - Land Margin Ecosystem Research Program at Tomales Bay, earned her M.S.

[3] It was during this time that she participated in two research expeditions to the Antarctic where she studied the ecology of planktonic marine archaea, Thermoproteota (formerly Crenarchaeota), with circumpolar distributions and demonstrated significant shifts in bacterial community composition and archaeal biomass over the extremes of the high latitude seasonal cycle.

[4] Murray's postdoctoral research (1999-2001) was conducted at the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University in which she studied in the emerging field of functional genomics with Distinguished Professor James M. Tiedje.

This research finding was profiled by BBC TV,[6] National Public Radio,[7][8] and in the international news media including The Guardian,[9] Los Angeles Times[10] and Nature.

[11] Murray's research has provided critical insights into how microorganisms persist and function in extremely cold and harsh environments, including those that lack oxygen and biological sources of energy.