Drug Discovery | Microbiome, Infection, Immunity and Inflammation
The CIV lab studies fundamental T cell biology and T cell immunity to infectious diseases. We apply this knowledge to develop experimental T cell-based vaccines in preclinical models of infection, with the ultimate goal of translating these findings into human vaccines.
Current projects
- Roles of Non-coding RNAs in T cell Fate.
- Harnessing mRNA Technology for T Cell-Based Vaccines Against Infectious Diseases.
Highlighted publications
- Valencia-Hernandez, A.M., Zillinger, T., Ge, Z., Tan, P.S., Cozijnsen, A., G, I.M., Lahoud, M.H., Caminschi, I., Barchet, W., Heath, W.R., and Fernandez-Ruiz, D. (2023). Complexing CpG adjuvants with cationic liposomes enhances vaccine-induced formation of liver TRM cells. Vaccine 41, 1094-1107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.12.047,
- Enders, M. H., Bayarsaikhan, G., Ghilas, S., Chua, Y. C., May, R., de Menezes, M. N., Ge, Zhengyu, Tan, P. S., Cozijnsen, A., Mollard, V., Yui, K., McFadden, G. I., Lahoud, M. H., Caminschi, I., Purcell, A. W., Schittenhelm, R. B., Beattie, L., Heath, W. R. and Fernandez-Ruiz, D. (2021). Plasmodium berghei Hsp90 contains a natural immunogenic I-Ab-restricted antigen common to rodent and human Plasmodium species. Current Research in Immunology 2, 79-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crimmu.2021.06.002.
- Valencia-Hernandez, A. M., Ng, W. Y., Ghazanfari, N., Ghilas, S., de Menezes, M. N., Holz, L. E., Huang, C., English, K., Naung, M., Tan, P. S., Tullett, K. M., Steiner, T. M., Enders, M. H., Beattie, L., Chua, Y. C., Jones, C. M., Cozijnsen, A., Mollard, V., Cai, Y., Bowen, D. G., Purcell, A. W., La Gruta, N. L., Villadangos, J. A., de Koning-Ward, T., Barry, A. E., Barchet, W., Cockburn, I. A., McFadden, G. I., Gras, S., Lahoud, M. H., Bertolino, P., Schittenhelm, R. B., Caminschi, I., Heath, W. R. and Fernandez-Ruiz, D. (2020). A Natural Peptide Antigen within the Plasmodium Ribosomal Protein RPL6 Confers Liver TRM Cell-Mediated Immunity against Malaria in Mice. Cell Host Microbe 27, 950-962 e957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2020.04.010.
- Fernandez-Ruiz, D., Lau, L.S., Ghazanfari, N., Jones, C.M., Ng, W.Y., Davey, G.M., Berthold, D., Holz, L., Kato, Y., Enders, M.H., et al. (2017). Development of a Novel CD4+ TCR Transgenic Line That Reveals a Dominant Role for CD8+ Dendritic Cells and CD40 Signaling in the Generation of Helper and CTL Responses to Blood-Stage Malaria. The Journal of Immunology 199, 4165-4179. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1700186.
- Fernandez-Ruiz, D., Ng, W.Y., Holz, L.E., Ma, J.Z., Zaid, A., Wong, Y.C., Lau, L.S., Mollard, V., Cozijnsen, A., Collins, N., et al. (2016). Liver-Resident Memory CD8+ T Cells Form a Front-Line Defense against Malaria Liver-Stage Infection. Immunity 45, 889-902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2016.08.011.
Our experts
Daniel Fernandez Ruiz - Group Leader
Daniel Fernandez-Ruiz is an immunologist specialised in the study of T cell immunity and vaccine development at the UNSW School of Biomedical Sciences and the UNSW RNA Institute. His research studies fundamental T cell biology, focusing on T cell activation and memory formation, as well as immunity to infectious diseases and vaccine development.
Daniel pioneered the study of tissue resident memory T cells (Trm cells) in the liver, providing insights into the mechanisms governing their establishment and maintenance. Another major focus of his research has been malaria, where he made important contributions to current understanding of protective immunity mechanisms and experimental vaccine development. He created the first Trm cell-based subunit vaccines against malaria, which demonstrated outstanding efficacy. He also identified RPL6 as one of the most protective malaria T cell antigens to date.
Daniel completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Oviedo, Spain, obtained his PhD at the University of Bonn, Germany, and was a post-doc at the Doherty Institute in Melbourne before establishing his own lab at UNSW in 2023.
Team members
- Dr. Alice Wong
Associated academics
Honor students
- Oscar Caswell
Research Theme