Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
One of the modern pioneers of 20th century toxicology, Sheldon D. Murphy made many important contributions to the discipline of toxicologyas a research scientist, a teacher, and a leader. Murphy was a native of South Dakota and received his bachelor's degree in pharmacy in 1955 from South Dakota State University. With this background in pharmacy, he began his career in Toxicology at the University of Chicago under the tutelage of Kenneth DuBois. Dr. DuBois and his colleagues, including John Doull, are recognized as members of the first generation of modern toxicologists in the United States, and are responsible for a long legacy of eminent scholars in the field. At the time that Murphy began his doctoral work in toxicology, the discipline was regarded as mainly descriptive. Under the inquisitive direction of Ken DuBois, Murphy began his exploration of the mechanistic basis of organophosphate pesticide toxicityan area of research he continued throughout his distinguished career. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1958, and then joined the U.S. Public Health Service, subsequently serving as chief of the Pharmacology and Toxicology Section of the Division of Air Pollution in Cincinnati. Here he began research on the application of sensitive physiological methods to the quantitative evaluation of respiratory effects of air pollutants in the laboratory rat.
Murphy then began a long career in academia, first at the Harvard School of Public Health (19631977) where he established a doctoral and post-doctoral training program in toxicology, then at the University of Texas in Houston (19771983) as Director of the Division of Toxicology in the Pharmacology Department, and finally, at the University of Washington as Chairman of the Department of Environmental Health, where he continued until his premature death from cancer in 1990.
Contributions to Research
The main theme of Murphy's research was the study of the toxicology of organophosphorus compounds, particularly the role of metabolism in modulating their toxicity. He held a grant on this topic from NIEHS for over twenty years, appropriately titled "Factors Affecting Pesticide Toxicity." His contributions started with the study of the role of oxidative metabolism in the activation of phosphorothioates to potent cholinesterase inhibitors, and continued with important findings on the role of nonspecific binding sites and on esterase-mediated metabolism in the detoxication of organophosphates such as parathion and malathion. The issue of interactions among chemicals was always dear to Murphy, who, in addition to experimental work, also contributed to the theoretical framework for such studies. Some of his publications on the comparative toxicity of organophosphates in different animal species or on the age-dependent toxicity of these compounds are often still cited today, more than twenty-five years later. Not to be forgotten is his contribution of a cogent chapter on pesticide toxicology to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions of the now classical toxicology textbook by Casarett and Doull. His research activities were always characterized by his ability to ask the right questions and to design the appropriate experimental approach for answering them. Even in the latter part of his career, when administrative responsibilities kept him from hands-on laboratory research, he was remarkable in his ability to identify the missing link or the weak point in a research project and to suggest appropriate experimental steps. Not to be forgotten, in addition to his inquisitive mind, was his total intellectual honesty and trust of the experimental method and his motto, "let the data speak for themselves."
Contributions to Leadership in the Discipline
Murphy's contributions to the discipline of toxicology were many and varied. He was a charter member of the Society of Toxicology in 1963, and later became one if its youngest presidents, assuming the position in 1974 at the age of 41. He was also instrumental in the formation of the International Union of Toxicology, and served on many national and international advisory boards and committees for organizations such as the NIEHS, NIOSH, EPA, NAS, WHO, and the Health Effects Institute. The Society of Toxicology honored him with virtually every major award possible, including its Achievement Award (1970), the Education Award (1979), and the Merit Award shortly before his death in 1990. He was noted for his ability to listen, weigh all of the evidence, and then make reasoned and rational decisions.
Contributions to Education and Training
The Education Award from the Society of Toxicology testifies to his commitment to the training of young scientists in the discipline. Murphy was responsible for starting, directing and fostering toxicology programs at three major universities (Harvard, University of Texas, University of Washington) and was always a strong supporter of federally funded training programs for pre-doctoral and postdoctoral students. Over the years he trained numerous students and fellows who now occupy prominent positions in academia, industry, and consulting firms. Several of them directly followed his path and now head successful toxicology programs at numerous universities in the U.S. and abroad. All of them recognize the unique role that Murphy had as a mentor in shaping their way of thinking about toxicological issues and toxicology in general. His mentoring style relied on letting the students find their own way and supervising them from a distance, in asking them the questions they should have asked, in giving them general directions, and in teaching them the logic and rationale behind each new experiment.
Sheldon Murphy, as Friend, Mentor, and Colleague
Although he should clearly be remembered for his many stellar contributions to the discipline of toxicology, an article about Sheldon Murphy would be inadequate without addressing Sheldon Murphy, the person. Although his career was very important to him, he was a dedicated family man as well. His "family" included not only his wife Donna and son Kevin, but the many graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and colleagues with whom he unselfishly shared his wit and wisdom. He maintained the highest level of personal and scientific integrity, and served as an inspiration for all who knew him. His personal courage in fighting cancer was both heart wrenching and inspirational. During the last few months of his life, while undergoing chemotherapy at the University of Washington Hospital, he would wheel himself down from the hospital wing to his office so that he could "catch up on a little unfinished business." His faith and courage during his struggle with cancer so inspired a wealthy retired corporate executive, who was serving on the Department of Environmental Health's Advisory Committee at the time, that he donated a half-million dollars of personal funds to establish an endowed chair in Murphy's name at the University of Washington. Additional funds were raised from friends, present and former colleagues, former students, and from several corporations. In addition to an endowed chair, these funds also allowed the establishment of a Student Travel Award in his name to allow graduate students to attend the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology.
One could not complete a short profile of Sheldon Murphy without remembering his love of life, his wit, his enthusiasm, his characteristic goatee, his rotund midsection, and his story and joke telling, which kept everybody amused even during the stressful moments of a grant renewal or a failed experiment.
NOTES
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at the Department of Environmental Health, University of Washington, Box 354695, Seattle, WA 98195. Fax: (206) 685-4696. E-mail: deaton{at}u.washington.edu.