Dr Melissa Humphries
Senior Lecturer
School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr. Melissa Humphries is a statistician – she creates, and applies, analytical tools that make sense of our world. Working in areas like forensic science, health and psychology, the goal is always to increase efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. Building bridges between machines and experts, Melissa’s work aims to support experts in making decisions in an explainable way.
Working at the interface between statistics and AI, Melissa's research draws meaning out of complex systems by leveraging the explainable components of statistical and physical models and elevating them using novel techniques. She strongly advocates the integration of the end-user from the outset of all research and is committed to finding impactful ways to implement science.
Melissa is also a passionate advocate of equity across all areas of her work and life.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2023 - ongoing Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide 2020 - 2023 Lecturer University of Adelaide 2018 - 2020 Associate Lecturer University of Adelaide 2016 - 2018 Lecturer University of Tasmania -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2023 Award Executive Dean's Staff Award The University of Adelaide Australia - 2020 Teaching Award Special Commendation - teaching response during COVID-19 the University of Adelaide Australia - 2020 Award Outstanding Acheivement ACMES - Australian Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers Australia 1000 2014 Award Winner of the 3 minute thesis competition - University of Tasmania University of Tasmania Australia $3,000 -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2024 Stephenson, L., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2024). Recent trends in an uncommon method of carbon monoxide suicide. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, 9 pages.
2024 Stephenson, L., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2024). Prescribed and Diverted Methadone Toxicity in South Australia: An Update. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 45(2), 124-129.
2024 Stephenson, L., van den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., Scott, T., & Byard, R. W. (2024). Increased incidence of mixed drug toxicity deaths involving tapentadol – A forensic study. Medicine, Science and the Law, 64(2), 113-120.
Scopus1 Europe PMC22024 O’Donovan, S., van den Heuvel, C., Baldock, M., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2024). Seasonal variation in cutaneous seat belt markings in fatal vehicle crashes. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, 56(1), 61-64.
2023 O’Donovan, S., van den Heuvel, C., Baldock, M., Humphries, M. A., & Byard, R. W. (2023). Seat belt injuries and external markings at autopsy in cases of lethal vehicle crashes. Medicine, Science and the Law, 63(3), 195-202.
Europe PMC12023 Stockham, P., Partridge, E., Alfred, S., Boyle, L., Camilleri, A., Green, H., . . . Mallon, J. (2023). Characteristics of analytically confirmed gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) positive patients in the emergency department: presentation, poly-drug use, disposition and impact on intensive care resource utilisation. Clinical Toxicology, 61(4), 241-247.
Scopus12023 Rahmat, R. A., Humphries, M. A., Saedon, N. A., Self, P. G., & Linacre, A. M. T. (2023). Diagnostic models to predict nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA recovery from incinerated teeth. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 137(5), 1353-1360.
Scopus12023 Ryan, M., Glonek, G., Tuke, J., & Humphries, M. (2023). Capturing functional connectomics using Riemannian partial least squares. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 15 pages.
2023 Stephenson, L., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., Nash, C., & Byard, R. W. (2023). Features of fatal pesticide ingestion in South Australia. Medicine, Science and the Law, 24 pages.
Scopus12022 Celma, A., Bade, R., Sancho, J. V., Hernandez, F., Humphries, M., & Bijlsma, L. (2022). Prediction of Retention Time and Collision Cross Section (CCSH+, CCSH-, and CCSNa+) of Emerging Contaminants Using Multiple Adaptive Regression Splines.. J Chem Inf Model, 62(22), 5425-5434.
Scopus17 WoS4 Europe PMC62022 O'Donovan, S., Lewis, D., Van Den Heuvel, C., Baldock, M., Humphries, M. A., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Methamphetamine and alcohol detection in vehicle-driver fatalities in South Australia: A 10-year survey (2008-2018).. J Forensic Sci, 67(1), 257-264.
Scopus4 WoS32022 Johnson, S., Maclean, J., Vozzo, R. F., Koerber, A., & Humphries, M. A. (2022). Don't throw the student out with the bathwater: online assessment strategies your class won't hate. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 53(3), 1-12.
Scopus22022 Ryan, M., Glonek, G., Humphries, M., & Tuke, J. (2022). Multivariate distance matrix regression for a manifold-valued response
variable.2022 Stephenson, L., Wills, S., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Increasing use of sodium nitrite in suicides-an emerging trend.. Forensic Sci Med Pathol, 18(3), 311-318.
Scopus19 WoS7 Europe PMC92022 O'Donovan, S., Humphries, M., Van Den Heuvel, C., Baldock, M., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Cardiac disease and driver fatality.. Forensic Sci Med Pathol, 18(3), 329-332.
Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC12022 Stephenson, L., van den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Characteristic features of self-immolation in a western population. Pathology, 54(sup 1), S70.
2022 O'Donovan, S., Van Den Heuvel, C., Baldock, M., Humphries, M. A., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Fatal blunt chest trauma: an evaluation of rib fracture patterns and age.. International journal of legal medicine, 136(5), 1351-1357.
Scopus5 WoS3 Europe PMC22022 Lountain, O., Tuke, J., Brown, H., Redman, K., Wilczek, S., & Humphries, M. A. (2022). A multivariate extension to the standard 4σ criterion for comparison of forensic glass evidence.. Forensic Sci Int, 338, 1-7.
2022 Stephenson, L., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Characteristics of fatal insulin overdoses. Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, 18(4), 429-441.
Scopus7 WoS3 Europe PMC42022 Stephenson, L., Grabowski, M., Van Den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., & Byard, R. W. (2022). Success of Low Aromatic Fuel in Preventing Gasoline Sniffing Deaths.. The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology, 43(4), 354-358.
WoS1 Europe PMC12021 Rahmat, R. A., Humphries, M. A., Austin, J. J., Linacre, A. M. T., & Self, P. (2021). The development of a tool to predict temperature-exposure of incinerated teeth using colourimetric and hydroxyapatite crystal size data. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 135(5), 2045-2053.
Scopus1 Europe PMC12021 Stephenson, L., Kenneally, M., van den Heuvel, C., Humphries, M., Stockham, P., & Byard, R. W. (2021). Recent trends in barbiturate detection in medicolegal deaths. Legal Medicine, 53, 1-5.
Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC32021 Rahmat, R. A., Humphries, M. A., Linacre, A. M. T., Malik, A., Saedon, N. A., & Austin, J. J. (2021). Freeze-drying improves DNA yield from teeth. Forensic Science International, 326, 110938.
2021 Bade, R., Tscharke, B. J., O’Brien, J. W., Magsarjav, S., Humphries, M., Ghetia, M., . . . Gerber, C. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 Controls on the Use of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol in Australia. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 8(9), 799-804.
Scopus24 WoS15 Europe PMC82020 Rahmat, R. A. -A. R., Humphries, M., Austin, J. J., Linacre, A., Raven, M., & Self, P. (2020). Integrating spectrophotometric and XRD analyses in the investigation of burned dental remains. Forensic Science International, 310, 110236-1-110236-9.
Scopus7 WoS5 Europe PMC22019 McArthur, L., & Humphries, M. A. (2019). Multi-model mimicry for model selection according to generalised
goodness-of-fit criteria.2016 Lai, F., O'Brien, J., Thai, P., Hall, W., Chan, G., Bruno, R., . . . Mueller, J. (2016). Cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine residues in wastewater: Consumption trends (2009-2015) in South East Queensland, Australia. Science of the Total Environment, 568, 803-809.
Scopus65 WoS60 Europe PMC152016 Humphries, M., Bruno, R., Lai, F., Thai, P., Holland, B., O'Brien, J., . . . Mueller, J. (2016). Evaluation of monitoring schemes for wastewater-based epidemiology to identify drug use trends using cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and methadone. Environmental Science and Technology, 50(9), 4760-4768.
Scopus21 WoS17 Europe PMC52016 Manning, E., Holland, B., Ellingsen, S., Breen, S., Chen, X., & Humphries, M. (2016). Comparison of three statistical classification techniques for maser identification. Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 33, e015-1-e015-30.
Scopus2 WoS22015 Humphries, M., Bruno, R., Karpievitch, Y., & Wotherspoon, S. (2015). The expectancy valence model of the iowa gambling task: Can it produce reliable estimates for individuals?. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 64-65, 17-34.
Scopus6 WoS6 -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2023 Johnson, S., Maclean, J., Vozzo, R. F., Koerber, A., & Humphries, M. A. (2023). Don't throw the student out with the bathwater: online assessment strategies your class won't hate. In Takeaways from Teaching through a Pandemic (pp. 69-80). Routledge.
DOI -
Theses
Year Citation 2022 McCormick, K. (2022). Developing a Strong(er) Theory of Eyewitness Memory: The Selection, Verification, and Application of Mathematical Models of Identification Decisions. (PhD Thesis, University of Adelaide). -
Preprint
Year Citation 2023 Shorten, D. P., Maclean, J., Humphries, M., Yang, Y., & Roughan, M. (2023). Optimal Proposal Particle Filters for Detecting Anomalies and Manoeuvres
from Two Line Element Data.
Year | Title | Team | Scheme | Amount |
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2023-27 | What causes low back pain to flare: Has a major opportunity to understand back pain been missed? | Klyne D, Hodges P, Barbe M, van den Hoorn W, Suri P, Smith S, Nicholas M, Setchell J, Ferreira M, Hunter D, Toyras J, McAuley J, Smits E, Cordeiro de Costa N, Humphries M | NIH | USD2,314,282 |
2022-24 | KNOW - The combined CBRN alert and information systems through harnessing the power of Psychoneuroimmunology. | Hutchinson M, Semler, C, Barrett D, Barry S, Mustafa S, Humphries M | HISS | $2,999,098 |
2021-23 | Trusted AI Frameworks for Change and Anomaly Detection in Observed ISR Patterns. | Roughan M, Chin T, Humphries M, Mitchell L, Tuke S, Nguyen G, Whitington B | SMARTSAT CRC | $440,777 |
2021-23 | Improving accuracy in forensic decision making with glass. COVID Recognition Fund Scheme. | Humphries M | Covid recognition fund - Faculty Award | $15,000 |
2021 | A Data Science package to modernise thermal load management in South Australia. | Humphries M, Maclean J. | The University of Adelaide | $10,000 |
2019-23 | Scholarship Funding in D2D CRC Centre Field. | Humphries M | Data to Decisions CRC Project | $70,516 |
2019-23 | Recommender systems for forensic evidence triage. | Humphries M, Roughan M, Taylor | SAPOL | $27,000 |
2019-22 | Elemental glass database and statistical modelling with likelihood ratios in forensic investigations. | Humphries M, Tuke J, Metcalfe A, Brown H, Redman K | ANZPAA NIFS | $18,000 |
2019-21 | Investigating deep learning for handwriting examination writership opinions. | Humphries M, Bird C | ANZPAA NIFS | $8,000 |
2021 | Emergency Medical Retrieval - Improving decision making with Mathematics. | Humphries M, Boyle L | ACEMS | $6,829 |
Courses Summary
Date | Taught | Developed | Coordinated | Course Title | Institution | Course Level/ Code | URL |
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2021 | x | x | x | Data Literacy | University of Adelaide | MATHS 1005 | Link |
2020-2021 | x | x | x | Statistical Analysis and Modelling | University of Adelaide | STATS 1005 | Link |
2020 | x | Research Methods and Statistics | University of Adelaide | MATHS 7025 | Link | ||
2020 | x | x | MathTrackX | University of Adelaide | Pre-Tertiary MOOC series | Link | |
2019 | x | x | Time Series III | University of Adelaide | STATS 3005, 7058 | Link | |
2018-2019 | x | x | Mathematical Background for Biostatistics | University of Adelaide | BIOSTATS 6001EX | Link | |
2018-2020 | x | x | x | Statistical Practice 1 | University of Adelaide | STATS 1000, 1004, 1504 | Link |
2016-2017 | x | x | x | Big Decisions! Rational belief and action in an uncertain world | University of Tasmania | XBR111 | Link |
2011-2017 | x | x | x | Statistical Analysis Using R | University of Tasmania | KMA711 | Link |
2015-2017 | x | x | x | Data Handling and Statistics 2 | University of Tasmania | KMA253 | Link |
2014-2016 | x | x | x | First year Medicine (Statistics Component) | University of Tasmania | CAM102 |
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2024 Co-Supervisor Topic Modelling on Recommendation Systems for Movies Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Joan Shu Ting Lim 2024 Co-Supervisor Communicating Uncertainty in Forensic Science Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Nicola Brooks 2024 Co-Supervisor Scalable algorithms for non-linear target tracking Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Athena Helena Xiourouppa 2022 Co-Supervisor Identifying and preventing the coordinated spread of misinformation Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Scott James Carnie-Bronca 2020 Principal Supervisor Building a recommender system to increase successful outcomes in crime scene analysis. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Louise Margaret Campbell 2020 Principal Supervisor Large-scale social media sentiment analysis as a predictor of public behaviour in Australia. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Saranzaya Magsarjav -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2022 - 2024 Co-Supervisor Small sample Rasch: simulation, estimation and evaluation of error Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Christina Anne Tait 2021 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Developing a Strong(er) Theory of Eyewitness Memory: The Selection, Verification, and Application of Mathematical Models of Identification Decisions Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mrs Kym Michelle McCormick 2021 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Emergency Departments: Predicting the Unpredictable Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Michael John Ucci 2020 - 2024 Co-Supervisor A retrospective analysis of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical substance-related coronial deaths in South Australia over 20 years Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Lilli Grace Stephenson 2019 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Riemannian statistical techniques with applications in fMRI Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matthew James Ryan 2019 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Statistical Methods for Comparison of Forensic Glass Samples in Australia Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Oliver James Lountain 2018 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Explanatory statistical modelling of influences of demographic experience on political identity Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Mr Lachlann Bradley McArthur
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2023 - ongoing Member Policy Committee Science and Technology Australia Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles