Dr Michael Watson

Dr Michael Watson

Lecturer
  • PhD Mathematical Biology, 2013, Heriot-Watt University
  • BSc Mathematics, First Class Honours, 2008, University of Dundee 
Science
School of Mathematics & Statistics

I am a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. My research is in mathematical and computational modelling of biological and physical systems. I develop, solve and analyse models to explain complex phenomena that cannot be understood by experiment alone. Techniques that I use include partial differential equation models, individual-based models and pore network models.

In the context of biology, I use models to study the formation of patterns and structure in tissues and multi-cellular systems. This involves modelling processes such as cell migration, cellular signalling, tissue remodelling, cell-cell interactions and capillary-scale blood flow. My work has been applied to a range of problems in disease, development and physiology. Specific examples include:

  • in vivo and in vitro wound healing;
  • development of the retinal vasculature; and
  • growth and formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

My other research area is pore-scale modelling of single-phase and two-phase fluid flow in porous media. This work has been used to study techniques of enhanced oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Location
School of Mathematics and Statistics University of New South Wales Sydney NSW 2052 The Red Centre
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Watson MG; Chambers KL; Myerscough MR, 2023, 'A Lipid-Structured Model of Atherosclerotic Plaque Macrophages with Lipid-Dependent Kinetics', Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 85, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11538-023-01193-w
    Journal articles | 2020
    Watson MG; Byrne HM; Macaskill C; Myerscough MR, 2020, 'A multiphase model of growth factor-regulated atherosclerotic cap formation', Journal of Mathematical Biology, 81, pp. 725 - 767, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00285-020-01526-6
    Journal articles | 2020
    Watson MG; McDougall SR, 2020, 'A Mechanistic Pore-Scale Analysis of the Low-Salinity Effect in Heterogeneously Wetted Porous Media', Transport in Porous Media, 135, pp. 587 - 617, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01488-9
    Journal articles | 2018
    Boujelben A; McDougall S; Watson M; Bondino I; Agenet N, 2018, 'Pore network modelling of low salinity water injection under unsteady-state flow conditions', Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 165, pp. 462 - 476, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.02.040
    Journal articles | 2018
    Watson MG; Byrne HM; Macaskill C; Myerscough MR, 2018, 'A two-phase model of early fibrous cap formation in atherosclerosis', Journal of Theoretical Biology, 456, pp. 123 - 136, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.08.010
    Journal articles | 2017
    Watson MG; Bondino I; Hamon G; McDougall SR, 2017, 'A Pore-Scale Investigation of Low-Salinity Waterflooding in Porous Media: Uniformly Wetted Systems', Transport in Porous Media, 118, pp. 201 - 223, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11242-017-0854-8
    Journal articles | 2016
    Boujelben A; Watson M; McDougall S; Yen YF; Gerstner ER; Catana C; Deisboeck T; Batchelor TT; Boas D; Rosen B; Kalpathy-Cramer J; Chaplain MAJ, 2016, 'Multimodality imaging and mathematical modelling of drug delivery to glioblastomas', Interface Focus, 6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2016.0039
    Journal articles | 2012
    McDougall SR; Watson MG; Devlin AH; Mitchell CA; Chaplain MAJ, 2012, 'A Hybrid Discrete-Continuum Mathematical Model of Pattern Prediction in the Developing Retinal Vasculature', Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 74, pp. 2272 - 2314, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11538-012-9754-9
    Journal articles | 2012
    Watson MG; McDougall SR; Chaplain MAJ; Devlin AH; Mitchell CA, 2012, 'Dynamics of angiogenesis during murine retinal development: A coupled in vivo and in silico study', Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 9, pp. 2351 - 2364, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2012.0067
    Journal articles | 2011
    Machado MJC; Watson MG; Devlin AH; Chaplain MAJ; Mcdougall SR; Mitchell CA, 2011, 'Dynamics of Angiogenesis During Wound Healing: A Coupled In Vivo and In Silico Study', Microcirculation, 18, pp. 183 - 197, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-8719.2010.00076.x
  • Preprints | 2022
    Chambers KL; Watson MG; Myerscough MR, 2022, A lipid-structured mathematical model of atherosclerosis with macrophage proliferation, http://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2205.04715
    Preprints | 2022
    Watson MG; Chambers KL; Myerscough MR, 2022, A Lipid-Structured Model of Atherosclerotic Plaque Macrophages with Lipid-Dependent Kinetics, , http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.05285v1
    Preprints | 2019
    Watson MG; Byrne HM; Macaskill C; Myerscough MR, 2019, A Multiphase Model of Growth Factor-Regulated Atherosclerotic Cap Formation, , http://arxiv.org/abs/1908.02889v1
    Preprints | 2019
    Watson MG; McDougall SR, 2019, A Mechanistic Pore-Scale Analysis of the Low-Salinity Effect in Heterogeneously Wetted Porous Media, , http://arxiv.org/abs/1908.02874v1
    Preprints | 2018
    Watson MG; Byrne HM; Macaskill C; Myerscough MR, 2018, A Two-Phase Model of Early Fibrous Cap Formation in Atherosclerosis, , http://arxiv.org/abs/1805.07058v1

  • 2014: Lee Segel Prize for Best Paper from the Society for Mathematical Biology.

I have been featured on an episode of the Society for Mathematical Biology's podcast Biology in Numbers.

I have been interviewed in the Society for Mathematical Biology newsletter.

My Teaching

I am currently scheduled to teach:

MATH6781 Biomathematics

MATH1231 Mathematics 1B