biology

Robin Murray

Robin Murray is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Robin Murray rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Robin MacGregor Murray FRS (born 31 January 1944 in Glasgow) is a British psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He has treated patients with schizophrenia and bipolar illness referred to the National Psychosis Unit of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust because they fail to respond to treatment, or cannot get appropriate treatment, locally; he…

Key takeaways

Robin Murray belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Robin Murray to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Robin Murray from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir Robin MacGregor Murray FRS (born 31 January 1944 in Glasgow) is a British psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He has treated patients with schizophrenia and bipolar illness referred to the National Psychosis Unit of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust because they fail to respond to treatment, or cannot get appropriate treatment, locally; he sees patients privately if they are unable to obtain an NHS referral.

Education and career Robin Murray trained in medicine at the University of Glasgow. After qualifying, he researched chronic renal failure induced by the massive abuse of a local headache powder, Askit Powders. Then he started training in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London and has remained there ever since apart from one year at the National Institute of Mental Health in the USA. He has been Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and Professor of Psychiatry there, but now focuses on research into and care of people with psychotic illness. In 1987 he and Shon Lewis were among the first to suggest that schizophrenia might in part be a neurodevelopmental disorder. Professor Murray is part of The Psychosis Research Group at the Institute of Psychiatry, perhaps the largest (by number of papers produced per annum) in the world. It uses a range of methods to improve understanding and treatment of psychotic illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. Murray is ranked as one of the most influential researchers in psychiatry by Thomson Reuters' Science Watch and 3rd in schizophrenia research. In 1994, he was the president of the European Association of Psychiatrists; now the European Psychiatric Association. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society (elected 2010) and also a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Murray is co-editor-in-chief of Psychological Medicine. He was Chairman of the Schizophrenia Commission which, over 2011 and 2012, reviewed in detail the care of people with psychosis in England, and concluded people with this illness were neglected, often poorly treated and subject to discrimination. The Commission made numerous recommendations for improvement. Robin Murray and colleagues were among the first to demonstrate that prolonged heavy abuse of cannabis can contribute to the onset of psychosis, and that starting early before 15 years and using high potency cannabis (e.g. skunk) particularly increase the risk. Currently, they are researching why some people are especially vulnerable to this drug while most develop no problems. In 2009 Murray had a public disagreement with David Nutt in the pages of The Guardian about the dangers of cannabis in triggering psychosis. Murray previously wrote that while the risk increase is "about five-fold [...] for the heaviest users", the issue has become a political football. Murray has commented repeatedly on these issues in BBC articles and programs, including in a Panorama documentary on BBC One.

Knighthood Murray was knighted in the 2011 New Year Honours for his services to medicine.

See also Substance abuse Effects of cannabis

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robin Murray

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robin Murray claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Robin Murray before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Robin Murray ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Robin Murray

In research: Robin Murray appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Robin Murray in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Robin Murray is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1944 births, 20th-century Scottish medical doctors, 21st-century Scottish medical doctors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robin Murray outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Robin Murray in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Robin Murray means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Robin Murray out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robin Murray in simple terms?

Why does Robin Murray matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Robin Murray?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Robin Murray.