He was a member of the team of scientists that discovered the Ebola virus at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he served as Chief of Viropathology, near Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1976, and is internationally known for his work on rabies, encephalitis and hemorrhagic fevers, with over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles.
He then served as dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California, Davis, and was later the James W. McLaughlin Professor in Residence, Department of Pathology, at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, as well as a senior scientist at the Galveston National Laboratory.
He was also a member of the Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Medicine) Committee on Microbial Threats, co-chair of the National Research Council Committee on Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates, member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Public Health, Agriculture, Basic Research, Counterterrorism and Non-proliferation Activities in Russia, and member of the Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Medicine) Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies.
Meyer Gold Headed Cane, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery honoris causa, University of Turku, Finland, and Doctor of Science honoris causa, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
[citation needed] Murphy was also the 2009 recipient of the Penn Vet World Leadership Award.