Professor Christopher Murphy
BSc (Hons), PhD, DSc
Bosch Professor of Histology and Embryology and Professor of Female Reproductive Biology, Discipline of Anatomy & Histology, School of Medical Sciences
Associate Dean & Head, School of Medical Sciences, Sydney Medical School and Faculty of Science
Telephone | +61 2 9351 4128 |
Fax | +61 2 9351 2813 |
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Biographical details
Professor Christopher (Chris) Murphy is an histologist and female reproductive biologist who heads the Faculty of Medicine’s School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney. As Sydney Medical School’s Bosch Professor of Histology and Embryology, Professor Murphy holds Australia’s first and only Chair in histology. Professor Murphy is internationally recognised for his research in female reproductive biology, specifically the study of uterine receptivity during pregnancy. “I am particularly interested in the structural cell biology of the epithelial cells that line the uterus, i.e. how these cells are changed by ovarian hormones to allow pregnancy to begin”, he says. He discovered the phenomenon of plasma membrane transformation, which involves a series of structural and molecular changes in the plasma membrane of uterine epithelial cells that are essential to the development of the receptivity of the uterus (womb) for attachment of the fertilized egg and for the commencement of pregnancy. The concept has been extended to encompass all placental animals with live birth. Professor Murphy’s research has direct implications for women attempting to become pregnant. He conducts clinical work with fertility and IVF clinics involving analysis of endometrial biopsies for the requisite changes needed for implantation of the fertilized egg and in working toward developing a hormonal mix that may promote plasma membrane transformation of uterine epithelial cells where this does not naturally occur. Professor Murphy is Honorary Consultant in Physiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Research Associate at the Centre for Early Human Development, Monash University, Melbourne, and Honorary Professor, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Research interests
Professor Murphy leads a team of scientists involved in two distinct arms of research including: (a) studies on the structure of the plasma membrane of uterine epithelial cells and (b) research on the evolution of viviparity.
With regards to uterine receptivity, he is particularly interested in cell surface interactions between trophoblasts and the uterus during blastocyst implantation, in the histochemistry and cytochemistry of uterine epithelial cell surface molecules, especially carbohydrates, and general histochemical methodology. “We are attempting to understand the changes in subcellular structures affecting the process of plasma membrane transformation, including how cytoskeletal structures contribute to the changes in membrane structure and how ovarian hormones change the structure of the plasma membrane”, says Professor Murphy.
Additionally, having discovered the concept of plasma cell transformation and its extension to encompass all placental animals with live birth, Professor Murphy is collaborating with zoologist, Professor Mike Thompson at the University of Sydney to study the uterine mechanisms underlying the evolution of the process of birth from egg laying to live birth. Using lizards and marsupials as models, Professor Murphy is collaborating on studies to understand how the general phenomenon of plasma membrane transformation has evolved from egg-laying animals to mammals that undergo live birth including investigating whether the molecules underlying the structural changes are similar or different between egg-laying animals and those giving live birth.
Current research students
Project title | Research student |
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Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy investigation of uterine epithelial cells. | Chad MOORE |
Selected grants
2018
- Placental nutrient transport and the evolution of complex organ systems; Whittington C, Murphy C, Thompson M, Simpfendorfer C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
2015
- Automated High Throughput Hypoxic Live Cell Imaging System; Halliday G, Richardson D, Long G, Mason R, Murphy C; DVC Research/Equipment Grant.
2014
- La Vision BioTec Ultramicroscope; Murphy C, Braet F, Byrne M, Chan-Ling T, Fraser S, Goldsbury C, Halliday G, Hambly B, Johnstone D, Keay K, Lovelace M, Lyons G, Mason R, Overall R, Owens T, Richardson D, Stone J, Weiss A; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
- CLARIOstar Multifunctional Microplate Reader for Shared Used at the Open Access, Multi-User Molecular Biology Core Facility; Huang M, Scolyer R, Fraser S, Sahni S, Speranza T, Owens T, Barrs V, Ju Y, Kovacevic Z, Lu Z, Camp A, Slobedman B, Morris B, Oliver B, Dos Remedios C, Kalinowski D, Fu D, Lai D, Lovicu F, Allbutt H, Triccas J, Burgess J, Kril J, Dixon K, Rendina L, Byrne M, King N, Groundwater P, Williamson P, Ho J, Dong Q, Bao B, Assinder S, McLennan S, Richardson D, Ammit A, Sharland A, Hardikar A, Hong A, Hambly B, Lee C, Murphy C, Goldsbury C, Johnstone D, Lane D, Hibbs D, Joshua D, Huq F, Halliday G, Sutherland G, Zreiqat H, Lok H, Lyons G, Jansson P, Black J, Zhu L, Sunde M, Day M, Naylor M, Buckland M, Murray M, Shafie N, Lay P, Poronnik P, Codd R, Mason R, Ryan R, Christopherson R, de Graaf S; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
2013
- Robotic High Throughput Western Analysis for the Open Access, Multi-User Sydney Cancer Research Core Facility; Richardson D, Scolyer R, Boyer M, Halliday G, Damian D, Christopherson R, Joshua D, Kench J, Hong A, Murray M, Lee C, Kalinowski D, Naylor M, Lay P, Lyons G, Kovacevic Z, Mason R, Dixon K, Chan-Ling T, Hawkins C, Sunde M, Lovejoy D, Owens T, Rendina L, Jansson P, Dos Remedios C, Charles (nee Slaviero) K, Lane D, Witting P, Dong Q, Ammit A, Groundwater P, Assinder S, Bao B, Byrne S, Zhou F, Buckland M, Grewal T, Huq F, Lai D, Codd R, Zhang D, Fu D, de Graaf S, Huang M, Payne R, Slobedman B, Barrs V, Ho J, Williamson P, Murphy C; DVC Research/Equipment Grant.
- Lively reproduction: do common molecules underlie all vertebrate live birth; Murphy C, Thompson M, McAllan B; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
- QX100 Droplet Digital PCR system for Shared Used at the Open Access, Multi-User Molecular Biology Core Facility; Richardson D, Kril J, Murphy C, Vandenberg R, Rendina L, Dos Remedios C, Ju Y, Kovacevic Z, Lyons G, Sutherland G, Lay P, Ammit A, Lai D, Morris B, Day M, Dong Q, Bao B, Huang M, Camp A, Boyer M, Whittington R, Byrne M, Hanrahan J, Fu D, Jansson P, Lane D, Bagley E, Hibbs D, Zhang D, Fraser S, Scolyer R, Black J, Halliday G, Christie M, Zreiqat H, Murray M, Slobedman B, Naylor M, Burgess J, Triccas J, Mason R, Chadban S, Combes V, Lovicu F, McLennan S, Kalinowski D, Sharland A, Johnstone D, Groundwater P, Dixon K, Zhou F, Lovejoy D, Lu Z, Zhu L, Goldsbury C, Witting P, Buckland M, Assinder S, Purdie (Williams) A, Codd R, Owens T, Hambly B; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
- Wide field super-resolution microscopy with ground state depletion - Exploring nanoscopic life in chronic diseases; Braet F, Weiss A, King N, Dos Remedios C, Traini D, Graeber M, Murphy C, Grau G, Soon L, Newsome T, Goldsbury C, Lovelace M, Gorrell M, Pollock C; DVC Research/Equipment Grant.
2012
- The link between the angiogenesis of live birth and cancer: a lizard model; Thompson M, Murphy C, Grau G; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
- Bruker Daltonics autoflex speed MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer; Baxter R, Halliday G, Marsh D, Gill A, Clarke S, Smith R, Little C, Jackson C, O'Neill C, Murphy C, Sharland A, Chadban S, Mason R, Assinder S, Verdurand M, Richardson D, Machaalani R, Hambly B, Chan-Ling T, Dos Remedios C, Holsinger D, Lay P; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
- GeneAtlas Personal Microarray System; Richardson D, Scolyer R, Stocker R, Weninger W, Black J, Allen D, Murray M, Mason R, Twigg S, King N, Horvath L, Lovicu F, Lee C, Halliday G, Lovejoy D, Joshua D, Sharland A, Roufogalis B, Hambly B, Morris B, Bao B, Bishop A, Hibbs D, Lane D, Zhou F, Hanrahan J, Dixon K, Rendina L, Byrne M, Naylor M, Cole N, Jansson P, Dong Q, Codd R, Payne R, Assinder S, Chadban S, Fraser S, McLennan S, Suryo Rahmanto A, Lai D, Yu Y, Ju Y, Buckland M, Kovacevic Z, Saletta F, Zreiqat H, Kalinowski D, Groundwater P, Simes R, Zhang D, Boyer M, Murphy C; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
2011
- PyroMark Q96 ID system; Richardson D, Stone J, Black J, King N, Mason R, Hunt N, Kril J, Murray M, Scolyer R, Halliday G, Vandenberg R, McMinn P, Chadban S, Byrne M, Ryan R, Dong Q, Lee C, Bishop A, Haass N, Fraser S, Hambly B, Sharland A, Kalinowski D, Assinder S, Yu Y, Bao B, Ju Y, Lovejoy D, Buckland M, Lane D, Dos Remedios C, Kovacevic Z, Sutherland G, Zhang D, Morris B, Suryo Rahmanto A, Murphy C; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
2010
- A 5-D Correlative Imaging Platform: Combining the Strengths of Light and Electron Microscopy; Braet F, Mitchell H, Soon L, Overall R, Day D, Waterhouse P, Marc J, Conigrave A, Weiss A, Newsome T, Meikle S, Goetz J, Goldsbury C, Hambley T, Ramzan I, Young P, Traini D, Grewal T, Fleming S, Murphy C, Grau G, Weninger W, Dos Remedios C, Wimmer-Kleikamp S, Munroe P, Stevens-Kalceff M, Foster L, Killingsworth M; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).
2009
- A Multi-Resolution X-ray Microtomography Facility (NanoCT & MicroCT) for Non-Destructive 3D Characterisation; Munroe P, Jones A, Zhou H, Cairney J, Einav I, Swain M, Murphy C, Seibel M, Ringer S, Li Q, Darendeliler M, Wang X, Zhang Y, Hand S, Archer M, Ramzan I, Young P, Traini D, Richardson D, Masters A, Milthorpe B; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).
- Human prostate disease: markers for disease diagnosis in the ageing organ; Murphy C; Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation/Equipment Grant.
- A new Laser Microdissection Microscope with a unique pressure catapulting technique allows isolation of pure samples for subsequent downstream molecular analyses; Halliday G, Morris B, Mason R, Murphy C, Bishop A, Leamey C, Joshua D, Lee C, Iland H, Pamphlett R, Richardson D, King N, Hunt N, Arnold J, Morris M, Protti D; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Equipment Grants.
2008
- Plasticity in placental vasculature and the evolution of viviparity in lizards; Thompson M, Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
- High Resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) Platform for Characterisation at; Ringer S, Barton G, Ramzan I, Copeland L, Potts D, Braet F, Grillet C, Lay P, Murphy C, Cairney J, Ferry M, Eggleton B, McKenzie D, Masters A, Parker A, Overall R, Weiss A, Ruys A, Sorrell C, Ye L, Harris A, Ranzi G; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).
- High-Resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) Platform for Characterisation at the Nanometre-Level; Cairney J, Ringer S, Braet F, Ferry M, Sorrell C, Ye L, Ruys A, Barton G, Harris A, Ranzi G, Eggleton B, Grillet C, Mckenzie D, Lay P, Masters A, Parker A, Overall R, Weiss A, Murphy C, Ramzan I, Copeland L, Potts D; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).
- The ageing human prostate: makers of disease diagnosis for early intervention; Murphy C; Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation/Research Support.
2007
- Disease in the ageing human prostate: markers for disease diagnosis and early intervention; Murphy C; Rebecca Cooper Foundation/Rebecca Cooper Foundation.
- PHERAstar and POLARstar Optima multi-functional plate readers with robotic high throughput screening system for multi-disciplinary cancer research; Halliday G, Ho J, Conigrave A, Iland H, Lee C, Joshua D, Cook D, Richardson D, Reichardt J, Grau G, Lovejoy D, Hunt N, King N, Mason R, Murphy C, Sharland A, Assinder S, Dong Q, Bishop A; Cancer Institute New South Wales/Infrastructure Grant.
- High-resolution electron tomographic facility for nanoanlytical characterization in the material an; Braet F, Ramzan I, Ringer S, Soon L, Liu Z, Hambley T, Lay P, Warr G, Thordarson P, Murphy C, Dos Remedios C, Weiss A, Parker A; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF).
2006
- Rebecca Cooper Medical Research Foundation - Research Grants Program; Murphy C; Rebecca Cooper Medical Research Foundation/Rebecca Cooper Medical Research Foundation.
2005
- The Evolution of Viviparity in Reptiles: The Fundamental Role of Junctional Complexes; Thompson M, Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
- FACS Aria for the University of Sydney Flow Cytometry Facility; King N, Pollard J, Rasko J, Lovicu F, Bishop A, Bertolino P, Briscoe H, Gillies M, Madigan M, McAvoy J, Murphy C, Balcar V, Armour C, Hughes M, Reeve V, Christopherson R, Halliday G, Christie M, Pollock C, McCaughan G, Gorrell M, Dong Q, Abendroth A, Menzies S, Barnetson R, Byrne S, Hunt N, Hambly B, Cook D, Mason R, Day M, Black J; University of Sydney/Equipment Grant.
2004
- The role of the developmental gene HOXA10 in the regulation of the uterus in a vivaparous lizard; Thompson M, Thomson M, Murphy C; DVC Research/Research and Development Scheme: Research and Development (R&D).
- Human prostate disease: early diagnosis of disease in the ageing human prostate; Murphy C, Slater M; Rebecca L Cooper/Medical Research Foundation.
2003
- Which desmosomal molecules are involved in the development of uterine receptivity; Murphy C; DVC Research/Research and Development Scheme: Research and Development (R&D).
- Uterodomes and the evolution of viviparity; Thompson M, Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP).
- Human endometriotic disease: differential identification of genes involved in pelvic forms of the disease; Murphy C; Rebecca L Cooper/Medical Research Foundation.
2002
- Human endometriotic disease: identification of genes involved in the genesis of the disease; Murphy C; Rebecca L Cooper/Medical Research Foundation.
2001
- Interaction of the blastocyst with the endometrial epithelium in a primate; Lopata A, Murphy C; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Project Grants.
- Evolution of viviparity in vertebrates: calcium transport; Thompson M, Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Large Research Grants (LRG).
- Tight injunction dynamics during the plasma membrane transformation of uterine epithelial cells; Murphy C; DVC Research/Research and Development Scheme: Research and Development (R&D).
- Human prostate disease: identification of genes involved in aging and disease processes; Murphy C; Rebecca L Cooper/Medical Research Foundation.
2000
- Human prostrate cancer: early diagnosis of disease in the ageing prostrate; Murphy C, Slater M; Rebecca L Cooper/Medical Research Foundation.
- Evolutionary origins of viviparity: an ultrastructural study of uterine epithelium and embryonic attachment; Thompson M, Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Large Research Grants (LRG).
- Cells-Murphy; Murphy C; Novegen Limited/Research Support.
- Macromolecular dynamics during the plasma membrane transformation of uterine epithelial cells; Murphy C; Australian Research Council (ARC)/Small Grants.
- Cytoskeletal markers of uterine receptivity; Murphy C, Koudounas S; Serono Australia Pty Ltd/Research Support.
Selected publications
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