Rate My Professor Mary Myerscough

Professor Mary Myerscough is Professor of Mathematical Biology in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney. She completed her undergraduate studies and research Master's degree in Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney, followed by a DPhil at the Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford, supervised by Jim Murray. As part of her doctoral research, she worked with Philip Maini on bifurcations in models for two-dimensional chemotactic pattern formation. After obtaining her DPhil, she held a research position in the School of Chemistry at Macquarie University, where she studied the mathematics of exothermic chemical reaction kinetics and became interested in models for collective behaviour in social insects. She recently completed a seven-year term as Associate Head of School (Education) and has taught courses in mathematical biology at AMSI summer schools. She supervises honours projects on topics such as honeybee modelling.

Myerscough's research specializations include mathematical modelling of honeybee behaviour—such as colony population dynamics, nest thermoregulation, house-hunting decisions, and stress responses using linear algebra and differential equations—and the immunology of atherosclerotic plaque development, featuring PDE models for lipid accumulation in macrophages, HDL action, efferocytosis, and macrophage proliferation. Key publications are 'Honey Bee Nest Thermoregulation: Diversity Promotes Stability' (Jones et al., Science, 2004), 'A quantitative model of honey bee colony population dynamics' (Khoury, Myerscough & Barron, PLoS ONE, 2011), 'Rapid behavioral maturation accelerates failure of stressed honey bee colonies' (Perry et al., PNAS, 2015), and 'A Lipid-Structured Model of Atherosclerotic Plaque Macrophages Regulates Foam Cell Formation' (Watson et al., 2023). She collaborates with biological scientists at the University of Sydney, Macquarie University, and CSIRO. Her fields of research encompass biological mathematics, cardiology including cardiovascular diseases, cancer cell biology, and ophthalmology. Awards include the 2026 ANZIAM Medal and the TM Cherry Prize. She has achieved significant grant success, including six ARC Discovery grants.