The Board of Verici Dx plc (AIM: VRCI), is saddened to announce the death of Dr. Barbara Murphy, Non-Executive Director, who passed away on June 29, 2021. Dr. Murphy had continued to fully discharge her duties as a Director through a recent period of illness, however over the past few weeks her health deteriorated. Dr. Murphy joined the Board of Verici Dx in April 2020.
Sara Barrington, Chief Executive Officer of Verici Dx, said:
“Barbara was not only a treasured colleague but a good friend and will be acutely missed by all of us at Verici Dx. She was a highly valued member of the Board, clinician and researcher, providing our Board with insightful and considered counsel. She was passionate about the importance of providing innovative solutions to improve patient outcomes and was instrumental in providing the clinical expertise needed to put us firmly on the path towards commercial success. My colleagues and I extend our thoughts and deepest sympathy to her family.”
The Company is in advanced discussions to appoint an additional non-executive director with appropriate specialist skills in renal transplantation.
Dr. Murphy was the Murray M. Rosenberg Professor of Medicine, chair of the Department of Medicine for Mount Sinai and Dean for Clinical Integration and Population Health.
Dr. Murphy earned her M.B. B.A.O. B.Ch. from The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and went on to do an internship at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. She completed a residency rotation at Beaumont Hospital followed by a fellowship in Clinical Nephrology also at Beaumont Hospital. Dr. Murphy completed her postdoctoral training with a fellowship in Nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. As part of this she trained in transplant immunology at the Laboratory of Immunogenetics and Transplantation, Renal Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Among her many honours, Dr. Murphy was awarded the Young Investigator Award in Basic Science by the American Society of Transplantation in 2003. In 2005, Dr. Murphy was awarded the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Then, in 2011, she was named Nephrologist of the Year by the American Kidney Fund. She received the distinguished Jacobi Medallion in 2014. She also received an honorary degree from University College, Dublin, Ireland. In 2016, Dr. Murphy was honoured by The Annual Irish America Healthcare & Life Science 50.
Dr. Murphy belonged to a number of professional societies including the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Nephrology. Among her numerous achievements, she has held many leadership roles at a national level, including being a member of the board of the American Society of Transplantation, the executive committee of the American Transplant Congress, and chair of Education Committee of the American Society of Transplantation. In 2009 Dr. Murphy was the president of the American Society of Transplantation and in 2016 was elected to council for the American Society of Nephrology.
Her area of interest was transplant immunology, focusing on the use of high throughput genomic technologies as a means to understand the immune mechanisms that lead to graft injury and loss, with the aim of identifying gene expression profiles and or genetic variants that may be used to predict those at greatest risk.
Sara Barrington, CEO
Julian Baines, Chairman
www.patientjourney.vericidx.com
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Verici Dx is developing and commercialising tests to understand how a patient will and is responding to organ transplant, with an initial focus on kidney transplants. The body’s own immune system poses a threat to a successful transplant or graft. Patients’ immune systems differ in how they respond to the presence of the transplanted organ, characterising this response is called immune phenotyping. Our products and solutions are underpinned by extensive scientific research into the recipient’s immune phenotype and how that impacts on acute rejection, chronic injury and ultimately failure of the transplant. These immuno-profile signatures also inform clinicians as to the optimal strategy for immunosuppressive and other therapies for the most successful treatment to ensure graft acceptance with the least amount of side effects.
The foundational research was driven by a deep understanding of cell-mediated immunity and is enabled by access to expertly curated collaborative studies in highly informative cohorts in kidney transplant.
