Research Interests
Applied Mathematics Applied Statistics Biological Mathematics Mathematical SciencesDr 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, 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) |
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | - | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Mr Matt Mack |
| 2025 | Co-Supervisor | - | 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 |