Graduate student profile: Bobby Murphy

Congratulations to Bobby for successfuly defending his dissertation!

Name, Position, Department, College:

Bobby Murphy, Graduate Research Assistant, Biochemistry Department, College of Medicine

Research Focus:

My research focus has been in characterizing the enzymes needed for polysaccharide utilization in the parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.

What brought you to UK?  

I decided to look at UK because of its proximity to Louisville, my hometown. I was immediately impressed with the research across the College of Medicine when compared with other graduate programs. During the interview process, I had two great conversations with Dr. Matthew Gentry and Dr. Becky Dutch which convinced me that the research environment at UK was the best choice for me. I'm so happy now that I talked with both of them at that time because I can't imagine choosing a better place for my graduate studies. 

Coolest aspect of your training (i.e. experiment, event, result): 

The most gratifying experiences I've had while training have been the scientific conferences I have attended both locally and abroad. My mentors made sure to send me to about one each year. Through these conferences, I've become connected with the incredible Toxoplasma community, received great feedback/criticisms related to my research, developed experience in networking, and learned how to defend my research conclusions in front of experts in my field of study. 

Fun fact outside of lab/science/career: 

I spend a lot of my free time cooking or rock climbing! These two things have always been a great outlet, especially when graduate school has been tough.