Contact Details
Richard is interested in the theory of biological systems. His group applies and develops concepts from statistical and theoretical soft-condensed matter physics, as well as applied mathematics, in order to describe ‘animate’, or living, processes.
Contact Richard:
EMBL Australia node in Single Molecule Science
The University of New South Wales
Level 3, Lowy Cancer Research Centre
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
After completing a Masters in Mathematical Physics from the University of Edinburgh, and a short spell working in finance for investment banks, Richard completed a PhD in theoretical (statistical) physics from the University of Manchester. He then undertook postdocs at the Atomic Energy Commission in Saclay, France, and the University of Warwick, in the UK. This facilitated a transition from statistical physics to theoretical soft-condensed matter, a trajectory that concluded with a move into Biology when he took up a the position of Simons Fellow at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India. He was appointed as an EMBL-Australia Group Leader in 2019, and has a joint appointment at UNSW, Sydney between Single Molecule Science (SMS) and Physics.
Highlight publications
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Anillin promotes cell contractility by cyclic resetting of RhoA residence kinetics Developmental Cell (2019) 49(6): 894-906. |
Anillin promotes cell contractility by cyclic resetting of RhoA residence kinetics |
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Morphodynamics of active nematic fluid surfaces Journal of Fluid Mechanics (2023) 957: A4. |
Morphodynamics of active nematic fluid surfaces |
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Nonstationary critical phenomena: Expanding the critical point Physical Review E (2025) 111(6): 064129. |
Nonstationary critical phenomena: Expanding the critical point |
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Capturing nematic order on tissue surfaces of arbitrary geometry Nature Communications (2025) 16(1): 7596. |
Capturing nematic order on tissue surfaces of arbitrary geometry |
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Morse Theory and Meron-Mediated Interactions Between Disclination Lines in Nematic Materials Physical Review X (2025) 15(2): 021099. |
Morse Theory and Meron-Mediated Interactions Between Disclination Lines in Nematic Materials |