Howard N. Murray, MD

Howard Murray, MD, cares for patients who are facing some of the most serious and frightening moments in medicine: severe infections, shock, pneumonia and sudden trouble breathing, often in ICU, where every hour matters. He is joining Willis Knighton Pulmonary and Critical Care in August 2026. 

“When patients need a ventilator or other life support to get them through a critical illness, I'm the one managing that care and working to get them safely back on their own,” he says. “I also treat chronic lung conditions like COPD and asthma, helping patients breathe more easily day to day so they can stay healthy, stay active and avoid ending up in the hospital in the first place.

“When breathing becomes a struggle, whether it's a sudden crisis or an ongoing condition, I'm here to help you through it.”

Dr. Murray lived in Ruston for many years and claims it as his adopted hometown. He became interested in medicine as a child, “watching a family member struggle with a respiratory condition I didn't yet understand. That early curiosity never left me. As I grew older, it only deepened, and medicine became the natural path forward.”

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and chemistry at the University of California at San Diego and his Medical Doctorate at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He completed his internship and residency at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, and completed a fellowship in pulmonary critical care medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. A practicing pulmonologist since 2007, he has treated patients at Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe since 2012.

In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, woodworking and golfing. He also paints landscapes and recently shared his artwork at a special showing at a gallery in Ruston.