Dr Ryan Murphy

Lecturer

School of Mathematical Sciences

College of Science

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Ryan is an applied mathematician, with expertise in statistics, data science, and wet lab experimental biology. Ryan develops and applies a range of mathematical and statistical modelling techniques to explore tumour growth, epithelial tissue dynamics, nanoparticle-cell interactions, and population dynamics. In these problems Ryan connects a variety of spatial and temporal scales, for example when exploring how subcellular processes that occur on the timescale of seconds influences tissue-level outcomes on the timescale of weeks.
Ryan enjoys teaching undergraduate subjects, supervising honours, masters, and PhD students, and is active in the Australian applied mathematics and mathematical biology community.

I am an applied mathematician, statistician and data scientist, with wet-lab experimental biology experience. I focus on applications in biology.

Mathematics. I specialise in: discrete models – taking the form of systems of ordinary differential equations; stochastic agent-based models; continuum models – taking the form of system of nonlinear partial differential equations; discrete to continuum limits; travelling wave analysis; perturbation analysis; moving boundary problems derived from biologically motivated cell-level processes; hierarchical models, and, tumour growth models.

Data science and statistics. To connect mathematical models to data I use techniques from statistics, specialising in: statistical uncertainty analysis; parameter estimation; parameter identifiability; prediction; profile likelihood-based methods; Bayesian MCMC methods; approximate Bayesian computation.

Biology. Applications of interest include: epithelial tissue dynamics (mechanical cellular relaxation, cell proliferation, cell death, mechanical cell competition, mechanochemical feedback loops), avascular tumour growth (experimental design, co-culture growth, adaptation mechanisms to time-dependent oxygen), epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT), the cell cycle, population dynamics; and nanoparticle-cell interactions.

Date Position Institution name
2025 - ongoing Lecturer Adelaide University
2025 - 2025 Lecturer: Mathematical Sciences University of South Australia
2023 - 2025 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Multiscale Mathematical Modelling of Cell Biology University of Melbourne
2022 - 2023 Associate Lecturer Queensland University of Technology
2021 - 2023 Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Mathematical Biology Queensland University of Technology
2015 - 2018 Senior Consultant Deloitte (United Kingdom)

Language Competency
English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Date Institution name Country Title
2018 - 2022 Queensland University of Technology Australia PhD
2011 - 2015 University of Oxford United Kingdom Master of Mathematics (M.Math)

Year Citation
2026 Browning, A. P., Flegg, J. A., & Murphy, R. J. (2026). A Cautionary Tale of Model Misspecification and Identifiability. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 88(1), 5-1-5-21.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC1
2026 Cassidy, T., Johnston, S. T., Plank, M., Botha, I., Flegg, J. A., Murphy, R. J., & Hamis, S. (2026). A Nonparametric Approach to Practical Identifiability of Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 88(2), 31 pages.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2026 Warne, D. J., Zhu, X., Steele, T. P., Johnston, S. T., Sisson, S. A., Faria, M., . . . Browning, A. P. (2026). A multilevel hierarchical framework for quantification of experimental heterogeneity in population snapshot data. PLoS Computational Biology, 22(6), e1014379-1-e1014379-24.
DOI
2025 Buenzli, P. R., Kuba, S., Murphy, R. J., & Simpson, M. J. (2025). Mechanical cell interactions on curved interfaces. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 87(2, article no. 29), 1-40.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC2
2025 Murphy, R. J., Faria, M., Osborne, J. M., & Johnston, S. T. (2025). Quantifying biological heterogeneity in nano-engineered particle-cell interaction experiments. Journal Of The Royal Society Interface, 22(230, article no. 20250206), 1-17.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC2
2024 Murphy, R. J., Maclaren, O. J., & Simpson, M. J. (2024). Implementing measurement error models with mechanistic mathematical models in a likelihood-based framework for estimation, identifiability analysis and prediction in the life sciences. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 21(210, article no. 20230402), 1-22.
DOI Scopus29 WoS28 Europe PMC30
2024 Simpson, M. J., Murphy, R. J., & Maclaren, O. J. (2024). Modelling count data with partial differential equation models in biology. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 580(111732), 1-11.
DOI Scopus20 WoS20 Europe PMC20
2024 Murphy, R. J., Gunasingh, G., Haass, N. K., & Simpson, M. J. (2024). Formation and growth of co-culture tumour spheroids: new compartment-based mathematical models and experiments. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 86(1, article no. 8), 1-34.
DOI Scopus8 WoS6 Europe PMC3
2023 Simpson, M. J., Walker, S. A., Studerus, E. N., McCue, S. W., Murphy, R. J., & Maclaren, O. J. (2023). Profile likelihood-based parameter and predictive interval analysis guides model choice for ecological population dynamics. Mathematical Biosciences, 355(108950), 1-12.
DOI Scopus16 WoS13 Europe PMC11
2023 Murphy, R. J., Gunasingh, G., Haass, N. K., & Simpson, M. J. (2023). Growth and adaptation mechanisms of tumour spheroids with time-dependent oxygen availability. PLoS Computational Biology, 19(1, article no. e1010833), 1-29.
DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC18
2022 Jolly, M. K., Murphy, R. J., Bhatia, S., Whitfield, H. J., Redfern, A., Davis, M. J., & Thompson, E. W. (2022). Measuring and Modelling the Epithelial- Mesenchymal Hybrid State in Cancer: Clinical Implications. Cells Tissues Organs, 211(2), 110-133.
DOI Scopus36 WoS34 Europe PMC39
2022 Murphy, R. J., Browning, A. P., Gunasingh, G., Haass, N. K., & Simpson, M. J. (2022). Designing and interpreting 4D tumour spheroid experiments. Communications Biology, 5(1, article no. 91), 1-11.
DOI Scopus29 WoS29 Europe PMC31
2022 Klowss, J. J., Browning, A. P., Murphy, R. J., Carr, E. J., Plank, M. J., Gunasingh, G., . . . Simpson, M. J. (2022). A stochastic mathematical model of 4D tumour spheroids with real-time fluorescent cell cycle labelling. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 19(189, article no. 20210903), 1-11.
DOI Scopus21 WoS21 Europe PMC22
2022 Murphy, R. J. J., Maclaren, O. J. J., Calabrese, A. R. R., Thomas, P. B. B., Warne, D. J. J., Williams, E. D. D., & Simpson, M. J. J. (2022). Computationally efficient framework for diagnosing, understanding and predicting biphasic population growth. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 19(197, article no. 20220560), 1-14.
DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC12
2021 Browning, A. P., Sharp, J. A., Murphy, R. J., Gunasingh, G., Lawson, B., Burrage, K., . . . Simpson, M. (2021). Quantitative analysis of tumour spheroid structure. eLife, 10(article no. e73020), 1-25.
DOI Scopus62 WoS61 Europe PMC59
2021 Murphy, R. J., Buenzli, P. R., Baker, R. E., & Simpson, M. J. (2021). Travelling waves in a free boundary mechanobiological model of an epithelial tissue. Applied Mathematics Letters, 111(article no. 106636), 1-6.
DOI Scopus11 WoS11
2021 Murphy, R. J., Buenzli, P. R., Tambyah, T. A., Thompson, E. W., Hugo, H. J., Baker, R. E., & Simpson, M. J. (2021). The role of mechanical interactions in EMT. Physical Biology, 18(4, article no. 046001), 1-12.
DOI Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2021 Reye, G., Huang, X., Haupt, L. M., Murphy, R. J., Northey, J. J., Thompson, E. W., . . . Hugo, H. J. (2021). Mechanical pressure driving proteoglycan expression in mammographic density: a self-perpetuating cycle?. Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, 216(3), 277-296.
DOI Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC7
2020 Tambyah, T. A., Murphy, R. J., Buenzli, P. R., & Simpson, M. J. (2020). A free boundary mechanobiological model of epithelial tissues: a model of epithelial tissues. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 476(2243, article no. 0528), 1-18.
DOI Scopus9 WoS4 Europe PMC7
2020 Murphy, R. J., Buenzli, P. R., Baker, R. E., & Simpson, M. J. (2020). Mechanical cell competition in heterogeneous epithelial tissues. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 82(10, article no. 130), 1-27.
DOI Scopus18 WoS13 Europe PMC19
2019 Murphy, R. J., Buenzli, P. R., Baker, R. E., & Simpson, M. J. (2019). A one-dimensional individual-based mechanical model of cell movement in heterogeneous tissues and its coarse-grained approximation. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 475(2227, article no. 20180838), 1-17.
DOI Scopus25 WoS23 Europe PMC23

Year Citation
2026 Chambers, K. L., Coster, A. C. F., Flegg, J. A., Murphy, R. J., Myerscough, M. R., Ndenda, J. P., . . . Watson, M. G. (2026). Atherosclerosis: reflections on mathematical modelling, data and other matters. In MATRIX Book Series (pp. 217-222). Springer Nature Switzerland.
DOI
2026 Murphy, R. J., Coster, A. C. F., Flegg, J. A., Ndenda, J. P., Myerscough, M. R., & Byrne, H. M. (2026). Quantifying bead accumulation inside a cannibalistic macrophage population. In MATRIX Book Series (pp. 201-215). Springer Nature Switzerland.
DOI
2024 Spoerri, L., Beaumont, K. A., Anfosso, A., Murphy, R. J., Browning, A. P., Gunasingh, G., & Haass, N. K. (2024). Real-time cell cycle imaging in a 3D cell culture model of melanoma, quantitative analysis, optical clearing, and mathematical modeling. In Z. Koledove (Ed.), Source details - Title: 3D Cell Culture: Methods and Protocols (Vol. 2764, pp. 291-310). US: Humana Press.
DOI

Year Citation
2025 Warne, D. J., Zhu, X., Steele, T. P., Johnston, S. T., Sisson, S. A., Faria, M., . . . Browning, A. P. (2025). A multilevel hierarchical framework for quantification of experimental heterogeneity.
DOI

Courses I teach

  • STAT 1000 Data Skills for Scientists (Semester 1, 2026)
  • MATH X410 Topics in Applied Mathematics A  (Semester 1, 2026)
  • STAT 3013 Capstone Project in Applied Data Analytics III (Semester 2, 2026)
  • MATH 1056 Linear Algebra (2025)
  • MATH 3041 Topics in Mathematics 2 (2025)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2026 Co-Supervisor Data-Driven Mathematical Modelling of Nanoparticles in Biomedicine Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Cameron Shaw-Carmody
2025 Co-Supervisor 213-Mathematical modelling of the extracellular actin scavenging system Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Matt Mack
2025 Co-Supervisor 208-Mathematical modelling and computation of biofilm growth and cell death Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Aidan Patterson

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2026 - ongoing Member ANZIAM ANZIAM (Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics) is a division of The Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS) Australia
2025 - ongoing Member Society of Mathematical Biology Newsletter Publication Board Society of Mathematical Biology Australia
2022 - 2023 Treasurer Queensland Branch of ANZIAM QANZIAM Australia
2021 - 2022 Member Queensland Branch of ANZIAM QANZIAM Australia

Date Role Membership Country
2020 - ongoing Member AUSTMS -
2020 - ongoing Member Society of Mathematical Biology -
2018 - ongoing Member ANZIAM -

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2025 - ongoing Associate Editor PLoS Computational Biology Adelaide University Australia
2025 - ongoing Associate Editor Bulletin of Mathematical Biology Adelaide University Australia

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