Who We Are

Founded in 1993, the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation’s legacy is rooted in the pioneering work of our founder and (posthumously) namesake, Gerald Murphy, who led the scientific team that discovered the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test that remains the gold standard for early detection of prostate cancer. At his untimely death, Dr. Murphy was chasing new models for the prevention of age-related cancers. These models applied the study of a relatively new field of medicine called comparative oncology — the science of comparing biological similarities and differences between different species — toward enhancing the healthy lifespans of both. In our case, humans and pet dogs .

The Murphy Foundation’s focus is conducting basic, comparative, and clinical research at the crossroads of cancer and aging . To conduct this research, Murphy Foundation scientists have developed a rich collaborative network of top-notch scientists from many disciplines including pathology, genetics, gerontology, cancer biology, nutrition, and drug discovery. Headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana, at the Purdue Research Park, our partnerships and joint ventures extend across the nation and world. We have a strong commitment to translational research and, thus, to both improving the cross-training of the next generation of scientists, as well as improving the communication of new science and its implications to the public.