About

Professor Jennifer Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at UCLA, affiliated with the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging. She received her B.S. degree in chemistry (cum laude) from Santa Clara University and her Ph.D. from UCLA in 2011, working under Michael E. Jung on natural product total synthesis. Her postdoctoral training included a Scholar in Oncologic Molecular Imaging (SOMI) fellowship at UCLA's Ahmanson Translational Imaging Division, and she also spent time as a visiting scholar at Harvard University in Tobias Ritter's research laboratory. Her research focuses on addressing limitations in radiochemistry to develop routine, robust 18F-fluorination methods with broad clinical utility. Her laboratory has developed chemical methods for site-specific 18F labeling of targeted molecules, including a novel, metal-free approach for 18F-labeled arenes and efficient methods for labeling peptides and proteins under mild conditions. Additionally, her work involves medicinal chemistry and preclinical drug development, with collaborations at UCLA leading to potent small molecules for applications such as potential therapeutics for tau-induced neurodegeneration. Professor Murphy is actively involved in the scientific community as a member of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine editorial board, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the International Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, among other roles. She was recognized in 2019 with the 'Ones to Watch' award by the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Nuclear chemistry
• Chromatography
• Radiochemistry
• Inorganic chemistry

Selected publications

• Droplet-Based Radiosynthesis and High-Throughput Optimization of Vinyl Sulfone Prosthetic Group ([18F]FVSB) and Peptide Bioconjugation

  Molecules · 2026-05-22

  articleOpen access

  Fluorine-18 is often considered an ideal positron emitter owing to its excellent chemical, physiological, and nuclear properties. Consequently, the development of rapid, simple, and reliable 18F-labeling strategies remains critically important for synthesizing new radiopharmaceuticals for PET molecular imaging. A common approach involves the synthesis of 18F-labeled prosthetic groups that subsequently undergo bioconjugation with peptides or other biomolecules to generate 18F-labeled imaging probes. However, conventional synthetic methods for these prosthetic groups are often lengthy, require large quantities of precursor and solvent, and typically rely on elevated reaction temperatures. Herein, we report a droplet-based microscale synthetic methodology for the preparation of the [18F]FVSB prosthetic group that minimizes precursor and solvent usage, proceeds rapidly, and operates at relatively low temperatures. Conditions were optimized using a platform for performing droplet reactions in parallel, enabling high-throughput study of multiple reaction parameters within a short period of time. Additionally, we introduce a simple micro-cartridge purification technique that affords purified [18F]FVSB in small volumes. Furthermore, we describe an efficient bioconjugation that requires substantially lower reagent amounts than the previously reported macroscale method. The microscale process we report could facilitate wider use of this 18F-labeling strategy and can be extended to label other thiol-bearing peptides or biomolecules.

  PublisherDOI

• Health Disparities Research: What Every Pediatric Surgeon Should Know

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery · 2024-07-01

  review
  PublisherDOI

• Deoxyfluorination of phenols for chemoselective 18F-labeling of peptides

  Nature Protocols · 2023-10-18 · 13 citations

  review
  PublisherDOI

• ¹⁸F-Labeled brain-penetrant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors for PET imaging of glioblastoma

  Chemical Science · 2023-01-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Fluorine-18 isotopologues of two EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting glioblastoma were synthesized. In vivo PET imaging revealed rapid brain uptake and accumulation in EGFR-driven orthotopic GBM xenograft tumors, confirming target expression.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Views of American Pediatric Surgeons on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery · 2023-04-24 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• An Organometallic Gold(III) Reagent for ¹⁸F Labeling of Unprotected Peptides and Sugars in Aqueous Media

  Organic Letters · 2022 · 19 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Combinatorial chemistry
  • Organic chemistry

  -aryl bioconjugates in an aqueous environment in 15 min with high radiochemical yields and displays excellent functional group tolerance. This approach utilizes an air and moisture stable, robust organometallic Au(III) complex and highlights the versatility of designer organometallic reagents as efficient agents for rapid radiolabeling.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Positron Emission Tomography Tracer Design of Targeted Synthetic Peptides via ¹⁸F-Sydnone Alkyne Cycloaddition

  Bioconjugate Chemistry · 2021-08-20 · 15 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Chemically synthesized, small peptides that bind with high affinity and specificity to CD8-expressing (CD8+) tumor-infiltrating T cells, yet retain the desirable characteristics of small molecules, hold valuable potential for diagnostic molecular imaging of immune response. Here, we report the development of 18F-labeled peptides targeting human CD8α with nanomolar affinity via the strain-promoted sydnone–alkyne cycloaddition with 4-[18F]fluorophenyl sydnone. The 18F-sydnone is produced in one step, in high radiochemical yield, and the peptide labeling proceeds rapidly. A hydrophilic chemical linker results in a tracer with favorable pharmacokinetic properties and improved image contrast, as demonstrated by in vivo PET imaging studies.

  PublisherDOI

• Development of [18F]fluoro-4-(vinylsulfonyl)benzene for chemoselective cysteine radiofunctionalization of peptides

  Nuclear Medicine and Biology · 2021-05-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Tri-functional platform for construction of modular antibody fragments for <i>in vivo</i>¹⁸F-PET or NIRF molecular imaging

  Chemical Science · 2020-01-01 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Positron emission tomography (PET) molecular imaging is a powerful tool for interrogating physiological and biochemical processes to understand the biology of disease and advance therapeutic developments. Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) optical imaging has become increasingly popular for intraoperative staging to enable cellular resolution imaging of tumor margins during surgical resection. In addition, engineered antibody fragments have emerged as promising molecular imaging agents given their exquisite target selectivity, rapid systemic clearance and site-selective chemical modification. We report a tri-functional platform for construction of a modular antibody fragment that can rapidly be labeled with radionuclides or fluorophores for PET or NIRF molecular imaging of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Abstract 692: Discovery of novel metformin derivatives with potent antitumor activity in combination with immunotherapy for treatment of triple-negative breast cancer

  Cancer Research · 2020-08-15

  article

  Abstract Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) occurs in about 15% of breast cancer (BC) patients, yet it accounts for almost 50% of all BC deaths. TNBC is characterized by lack of expression of estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors, and it cannot be treated with current targeted therapies. TNBCs are heterogeneous and occur often in younger and African American women. Although initially responsive to some chemotherapies, TNBCs tend to relapse early and metastasize, leading to poor survival. Development of new therapeutic approaches for clinical translation is a high priority. Emerging evidence from epidemiologic and preclinical work suggests that metformin, the most widely used drug to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, exerts anticancer activity in BC. Diabetic patients treated with metformin have a reduced incidence and better survival from BC. Moreover, TNBC cells are reported to be uniquely sensitive to metformin in vitro, but strong antitumor effects require relatively high metformin doses in vivo. To address this challenge, we used a structure-activity strategy to develop metformin analogues with more potent anticancer action and safety at lower doses in vivo. Using TNBC cell proliferation in vitro to screen drug candidates, selected new metformin analogues were identified that exerted dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation at significantly lower concentrations than that of parental metformin (P&amp;lt;0.01). As antitumor effects of metformin are attributed in part to activation of the LKB1-AMPK pathway, we find that metformin analogues also strongly induced phosphorylation of AMPK by Western blot assays and significantly reduced phosphorylation of mTOR downstream signaling pathway components (p70S6K, S6 ribosomal protein, 4E-BP1). Analogues also induced TNBC cell apoptosis at lower doses than metformin. In vivo, metformin analogues were more effective at lower doses given by oral gavage than metformin in suppressing TNBC human tumor xenograft progression in nude mouse models (P&amp;lt;0.001). It is notable that data from clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) indicate that TNBCs are susceptible to immunotherapy, but only a minority of patients to date have had clinical benefit. Importantly, our studies indicate that metformin analogues modulate the activity and trafficking of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) that may significantly impact TNBC responses to ICIs. Thus, combination therapy with metformin analogues and anti-PD-L1 antibodies was more effective at blocking tumor growth in vivo than either treatment given alone using murine 4T1 TNBC implants in syngeneic, immune-competent BALB/C mouse models. In the TNBC microenvironment, analogue treatment with ICIs elicited significant infiltration of predominantly effector T-cells, increased populations of tissue-resident memory T-cells, and a reduction of exhausted T-cells as compared to controls (P&amp;lt;0.01). Moreover, MDSC were significantly decreased after combination therapy as compared to appropriate controls (P&amp;lt;0.05). Since there are currently no specific treatments for TNBC, identification of a new targeted therapeutic approach could ultimately be beneficial for managing patients afflicted with this deadly disease. Funding by California BC RP, NCI U54 CA143930. Citation Format: Diana C. Márquez-Garban, Gang Deng, Begonya Comin-Anduix, Vishaka Muhunthan, Gaoyuan Ma, Jennifer Murphy, Alejandro J. Garcia, Cristian D. Yanes, Lorena R. Burton, Nalo Hamilton, David Shackelford, Michael E. Jung, Richard J. Pietras. Discovery of novel metformin derivatives with potent antitumor activity in combination with immunotherapy for treatment of triple-negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 692.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Keith A. Johnson

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  729 shared

• D. Cheng

  567 shared

• Joseph C. Wu

  486 shared

• Marcelo F. Di Carli

  Harvard University

  405 shared

• Monte S. Buchsbaum

  University of California, Irvine

  405 shared

• Carl K. Hoh

  University of California, San Diego

  405 shared

• Carolyn C. Meltzer

  University of Southern California

  324 shared

• Steven E. Arnold

  Harvard University

  324 shared

Labs

• Murphy Research GroupPI

Awards & honors

• Ones to Watch: Early Career Professionals Making a Differenc…