Stephen Murphy, PhD, MPH, MBA

Dr. Murphy leads the Disaster Management Program, leveraging his nearly two decades of practice-based experience shaping and implementing local, state, federal, and private sector public health emergency preparedness, health security, homeland security, and disaster management programs. 

Dr. Murphy serves as the Director of the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health (CAEPH - pronounced "safe"), being appointed to the leadership role after working for years with Dr. LuAnn White, the founder and director from 1992-2023. CAEPH was formed in 1992 as a University coordinating center for environmental public health and emergency preparedness practice-based projects; the center continues to focus on the translation of research and lessons learned to practice and workforce capacity building. 

CAEPH projects under Dr. Murphy's leadership include the Region 6 Public Health Training Center (and its Leadership Institute) and the Region 6 Framework to Improve Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (funded by the CDC).

His experience includes developing and managing preparedness plans, exercises, and operational responses for major metropolitan jurisdictions addressing health threats such as COVID-19, Ebola Virus Disease, hurricane evacuation, pandemic influenza, coastal oil spills as well as planning for high-threat events of national significance such as the Super Bowl and other large-scale mass gatherings. He continues to serve his field by participating in a First Responder Workgroup and Task Force with the Department of Homeland Security's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, a resource typing project with FEMA, and has served on numerous state-wide advisory boards in Louisiana. Prior to his academic appointment, Dr. Murphy served as the Chief of Planning and Preparedness for the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness in the years following Hurricane Katrina. 

Dr. Murphy’s research is focused on developing effective, actionable disaster resilience and health security strategies. He is passionate about teaching and typically leads multiple graduate courses and an undergraduate course each year. Courses: Environmental Aspects of Disasters (ENHS 6910); Planning and Implementation in Disasters (ENHS 6930). 

View Dr. Murphy’s publications at his NCBI profile page.