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Background
Murrell received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, where he first began integrating principles of physics and engineering into the study of biological systems. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his research focused on the continuum mechanics of cell behavior, examining how cells generate and transmit forces at larger scales. To broaden his perspective, he pursued a joint postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago in Physics and at the Institut Curie in Paris in Biophysical Chemistry. During this time, he shifted focus to the statistical mechanics of molecules, exploring how molecular-scale fluctuations and interactions govern energy regulation and non-equilibrium dynamics. Together, these experiences provided a complementary foundation — spanning mechanics, thermodynamics, and statistical physics — that continues to inform his work on the energetic principles of living matter.
Interests
Energy harnessing, non-equilibrium physics, far-from-equilibrium dynamics, thermodynamics, cellular organization, tissue function, molecular reconstitution, top-down/bottom-up integration, energy costs and efficiency, biological adaptation, life organization, dissipative systems, and molecular components
Sample Work
Publication
Feedback between F-actin organization and active stress govern criticality and energy localization in the cell cytoskeleton
Z. Sun, N. Zimmerberg, P. Kelly, C. Floyd, G. Papoian, and M. Murrell, Feedback between F-actin organization and active stress govern criticality and energy localization in the cell cytoskeleton, Nature Physics, 2025.
Publication
Energy Partitioning in the Cell Cortex, Nature Physics
S. Cheng, D. Seara, A. Michaud, S. Kim, B. Bement & M. Murrell, Energy Partitioning in the Cell Cortex, Nature Physics, 2024.
Publication
Wound healing coordinates actin architectures to regulate mechanical work
V. Ajeti, A. Tabatabai, A. Fleszar, M. Staddon, D. Seara, C. Suarez, M. Yousafzai, M. Bi, D. Kovar, S Banerjee, M. Murrell, Wound healing coordinates actin architectures to regulate mechanical work, Nature Physics, 2019.