Amy P. Murtha, MD, HS’92-’98, has been honored with a 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award by the Duke Medical Alumni Association for her sustained commitment to improving maternal-fetal health and advancing academic medicine.
Murtha is a nationally recognized physician-scientist and academic leader in obstetrics and gynecology, with a distinguished career in maternal-fetal medicine, translational research, and medical education. A graduate of Duke University’s residency and fellowship programs in OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine, she joined the Duke faculty in 1998 and served in multiple leadership roles, including Vice Chair for Research and Interim Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
During her tenure at Duke, Murtha led initiatives that significantly advanced the department’s research profile, including a rise in NIH funding from rank 57th to 17th nationally. She directed the CTSI Clinical Research Unit and served as program Director for Duke’s NIH BIRCWH K12 program. She also developed “Mentor Duke,” a mobile app designed to support mentor-mentee engagement and progress tracking.
Murtha’s research has focused on the physiology and prevention of preterm birth, with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. She has mentored numerous fellows and junior faculty, many of whom now hold leadership positions across academic medicine. Her commitment to mentorship and faculty development has been a hallmark of her career.
In 2018, Dr. Murtha was appointed chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, where she expanded clinical and research operations and secured new endowed professorships. In 2022, she became dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she has advanced the school’s commitment to excellence in patient care and community health, ensuring comprehensive medical training for our learners, promoting innovation in research, and advancing the equity and inclusion missions of the medical school. As the founding dean, Dr. Murtha is leading the merger of the Rutgers RWJ and New Jersey Medical schools to the future Rutgers School of Medicine. This transformational work positions the new medical school to be one of the leading public medical schools in the country and a hub of biomedical and health sciences education, research, and clinical care.