Dr Ryan Murphy

Lecturer

School of Mathematical Sciences

College of Sciences

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


Ryan is an applied mathematician, statistician, and data scientist focused on applications in biology. Ryan 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: 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), 21 pages.
DOI
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
2025 Chen, C., & Murphy, R. (2025). 'Desert Dew': A Compact, Determinant Tomato Variety for Short-season Locations. HORTSCIENCE, 60(5), 689-692.
DOI
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 Europe PMC1
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 PMC1
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 Scopus6 WoS4 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 Scopus21 WoS20 Europe PMC22
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 Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC15
2023 Ogier, E. M., Smith, D. C., Breen, S., Gardner, C., Gaughan, D. J., Gorfine, H. K., . . . Woodhams, J. (2023). Initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian fisheries production, research organisations and assessment: shocks, responses and implications for decision support and resilience. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 33(2), 513-534.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9
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 Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC14
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 Scopus13 WoS11 Europe PMC8
2023 Xie, Y., Hunter, M., Sorensen, A., Nogeire-McRae, T., Murphy, R., Suraci, J. P., . . . Lark, T. J. (2023). U.S. Farmland under Threat of Urbanization: Future Development Scenarios to 2040. LAND, 12(3), 19 pages.
DOI WoS22
2022 Cordova Sanchez, A., Bhuta, K., Shmorgon, G., Angeloni, N., Murphy, R., & Chaudhuri, D. (2022). The association of hyponatremia and clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a cross-sectional study. BMC CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS, 22(1), 7 pages.
DOI WoS6
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 Scopus13 WoS12 Europe PMC10
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 Scopus18 WoS18 Europe PMC19
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 Scopus33 WoS31 Europe PMC37
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 Scopus26 WoS26 Europe PMC26
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 Scopus50 Europe PMC45
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 Scopus11 WoS10 Europe PMC7
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 Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC6
2021 Bahe, M. M., Murphy, R. L., Russell, M. B., Knight, J. F., & Johnson, G. R. (2021). Suitability of a single imager multispectral sensor for tree health analysis. URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING, 63, 11 pages.
DOI WoS5
2021 Murphy, R., McDowell, D., & Chen, C. (2021). 'Ground Jewel' and 'Ground Dew': Two Tomato Breeding Lines for Growers in the Northern and Short-season Locations. HORTSCIENCE, 56(2), 293-295.
DOI WoS1
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, 25 pages.
DOI WoS49
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 PMC18
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
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 Scopus23 WoS21
2019 Amirmohammadi, F. -Z., Azizi, M., Neamati, S. H., Memariani, F., & Murphy, R. (2019). Nutlet micromorphology of Iranian <i>Nepeta</i> (Lamiaceae) species. NORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY, 37(8), 11 pages.
DOI WoS5
2017 Woodford, M. R., Sager, R. A., Marris, E., Dunn, D. M., Blanden, A. R., Murphy, R. L., . . . Mollapour, M. (2017). Tumor suppressor Tsc1 is a new Hsp90 co-chaperone that facilitates folding of kinase and non-kinase clients. EMBO JOURNAL, 36(24), 3650-3665.
DOI WoS70
2016 Kreiser, M., Giblin, C., Murphy, R., Fiesel, P., Braun, L., Johnson, G., . . . Cohen, J. D. (2016). Conversion of Indole-3-Butyric Acid to Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Shoot Tissue of Hazelnut (<i>Corylus</i>) and Elm (<i>Ulmus</i>). JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION, 35(3), 710-721.
DOI WoS23
2015 Zou, R., Riverson, J., Liu, Y., Murphy, R., & Sim, Y. (2015). Enhanced nonlinearity interval mapping scheme for high-performance simulation-optimization of watershed-scale BMP placement. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, 51(3), 1831-1845.
DOI WoS11

Year Citation
2019 Averello, V., Murphy, R., & Chen, C. (2019). Altering the Tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i> L.) Cholesterol Synthesis Pathway to Produce Vitamin D3. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 54 (pp. S279). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2018 Murphy, R., Averello, V., & Chen, C. (2018). Breeding Dwarf Tomato Varieties for Growers in the Northern and Short Season Locations. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 53 (pp. S92). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2016 Azizi, M., Murphy, R., Schwier, A., & Chen, C. (2016). Phenotypic Characterization of Sink-Source Relationship Between Mother and Daughter Corms in Saffron (<i>Crocus sativus</i>). In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 51 (pp. S175-S176). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2016 Liu, G., Murphy, R., Du, G., Dai, M., & Chen, C. (2016). Uniform Spectrum LED Film Illumination Device (FID), the Next Generation Lighting System for Indoor Horticulture and Farming. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 51 (pp. S159). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2016 Murphy, R., McDowell, D., & Chen, C. (2016). Ground Jewel™ and Ground Dew™ Are Two New Tomato Inbred Lines for Growers in the Northern and Short-season Locations. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 51 (pp. S190). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2015 Chen, C., Murphy, R., & Jombwe, K. (2015). Genetics and Breeding of Tomatoes for Short-season Locations and Unique Cultural Interest. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 50 (pp. S120). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.
2015 Chen, C., Murphy, R., Jombwe, K., & Azizi, M. (2015). Medicinal Plants as Specialty Crops for Midwest Growers. In HORTSCIENCE Vol. 50 (pp. S134). AMER SOC HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE.

Courses I teach

  • MATH 1056 Linear Algebra (2025)
  • MATH 3041 Topics in Mathematics 2 (2025)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
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
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 Bulletin of Mathematical Biology University of South Australia Australia

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