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Staff Profile

Emeritus Professor Alan Murray

Professor, Cardiovascular Physics & Medical Devices

Background

Alan Murray is Professor in the Engineering School, with a specific research interest in Medical Devices, and also Professor of Cardiovascular Physics in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. He formed the international research group "Cardiovascular Physics and Engineering" as an active collaboration between university based academic research and hospital based clinical cardiology and cardiovascular surgery.  Alan is active in Translational Research bringing together Engineering and Medicine, undertaking and encouraging research publications, grant funded research, PhD training, innovative medical device development, and collaboration with the medical device industry.

His first degree was gained from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, and then his PhD from Edinburgh University. His first appointment was a joint post with Edinburgh University and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and since then he has had continuous collaboration with Scottish institutions.

He has published over 300 research papers, including in Nature and Lancet. His primary areas of research are in the development of devices and measurement techniques of clinical value in cardiovascular medicine and surgery. He holds patents in blood pressure measurement and arterial measurement. One of his novel devices led to the creation of a spin-out company. The blood pressure measurement device for which he holds the patent is manufactured in the UK and sold internationally.

He has been Principal Investigator on collaborative research grants from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Medical Research Council (MRC), Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, Action Research and the European Union. He has collaborated and published with colleagues in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Australia, USA, Brazil, Chile, India, Pakistan, Israel, Libya, Tanzania and Mauritius.

The following awards were presented to him: NHS Innovations Award for Successful Exploitation, Healthcare Scientist of the Year, Innovative Technology Award, Manufacturers’ Award, Business for Life Award, Department of Health Clinical Scientist “Extraordinary You”,  Honorary Life Member of the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering.

In 2014 he received The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Achievement Medal at a special ceremony in London "in recognition of significant contributions to medical device research, development, design and clinical use".

He was Editor of Clinical Physics & Physiological Measurement, and Editor in Chief of Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing. For 29 years he was Editor of Computing in Cardiology, published as a free-access publication and also by the IEEE in the USA.

His work on medical devices and in patient safety led to the publication of the book he co-authored on “Medical Devices: Use and Safety”, which was republished in digital format in 2011. It was also published independently in India in 2011 for the Asian market and reprinted in 2012, and has been translated into Mandarin Chinese and published by China Science and Technology Press, and translated into Farsi and published by the Iranian Academic Center for Education Culture and Research in 2017.

Currently he is:

  • Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET)
  • Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (FIPEM)
  • Chartered Engineer (CEng)
  • Chartered Scientist (CSci)
  • Registered Clinical Scientist
  • Honorary Life Member, International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering

Teaching

Postgraduate research student supervision

His past research students have held academic university posts throughout the world, and include London, Leeds, Sheffield, Naples, Bologna, Beijing, Chengdu, Melbourne, Brisbane, Valparaiso, and Florianópolis Brazil.


Research
Main research covers electrocardiography, blood pressure measurement, innovative medical devices, medical device safety
Teaching

Postgraduate research student supervision

His past research students have held academic university posts throughout the world, and include London, Leeds, Sheffield, Coventry, Naples, Bologna, Beijing, Melbourne, Brisbane, Valparaiso, and Florianópolis Brazil.

Publications