Dr. Murphy received his BS with a major in Molecular Biology and a minor in American History from Vanderbilt University. He worked as a research assistant in a lab in the Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine doing molecular genetics work such as DNA sequencing.

He then attended medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine – Birmingham (UAB). Upon receiving his MD, he moved to the Midwest and completed three years of an Anesthesiology residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Murphy found a home in Psychiatry after volunteering for a year in the Dual Diagnosis unit at The Ridgeview Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Murphy completed his Psychiatry residency and Child-Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. 

During residency and fellowship, Dr. Murphy, inspired by various faculty and his personal life experience, found a home in Addiction Medicine and ASAM after attending multiple national meetings. Prior to starting his Addiction Medicine Fellowship at University of Florida – Gainesville, Dr. Murphy worked as a psychiatrist at Student Health Services at Augusta University where he garnered experience with the young adult population. While an Addiction Medicine Fellow at University of Florida, Dr. Murphy honed his skills and knowledge in Addiction Medicine and combined them with those acquired during his training and work as a psychiatrist.