Our research group is at the intersection of systems immunology and artificial intelligence (AI). Our vision is to develop cutting-edge knowledge and tools to unravel the intricate workings of T cells and harness their potential in modern immunotherapy. Employing a genomic lens and leveraging machine learning and AI, we delve into immune cell dynamics within an evolutionary biology framework. Our mission involves inventing and employing bioinformatics and single-cell genomics tools to decode immune cell behavior during both beneficial (antiviral) and detrimental (autoimmune) responses. Collaborating closely with clinicians and biotech firms, we aim to pioneer predictive models for translational applications. Through communication and mentorship, we're fostering the next generation of leaders in this dynamic field, ensuring a vibrant research environment for innovation to flourish.
Current projects
Identification of aberrant immune cell clones driving autoimmune diseases:
- Applications to Coeliac disease and other intestinal autoimmune disorders. To construct a cell atlas of the gut of active and refractory coeliac disease using single cell multi-omics.
- To understand how rogue clones drive immuno-pathogenesis.
Adoptive T cell therapies, CAR T cells.
- To identify the determinant of CAR T cell therapy outcomes using AI and Single Cell Genomics.
Highlighted publications
- van de Sandt CE, Nguyen THO, Gherardin NA, Crawford JC, Samir J, Minervina AA, Pogorelyy MV, Rizzetto S, Szeto C, Kaur J, Ranson N, Sonda S, Harper A, Redmond SJ, McQuilten HA, Menon T, Sant S, Jia X, Pedrina K, Karapanagiotidis T, Cain N, Nicholson S, Chen Z, Lim R, Clemens EB, E....LUCIANI*, Kedzierska*. Newborn and child-like molecular signatures in older adults stem from TCR shifts across human lifespan. Nature Immunology September 2023 PMID: 37749325. *Equal contribution https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01633-8
- Eltahla AA, Rizzetto S, Pirozyan MR, Betz‐Stablein BD, Venturi V, Kedzierska K, Lloyd AR, Bull RA, LUCIANI, F. Linking the T cell receptor to the single cell transcriptome in antigen-specific human T cells. Immunology and Cell Biology. 2016 Feb 10. Feb 10. https://medicalsciences.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/Fabio%20Luciani_Immunology%20cell%20biology.pdf
- RHY Louie, C Cai, J Samir, M Singh, IW Deveson, JM Ferguson, TG Amos, ...F, Luciani. CAR+ and CAR− T cells share a differentiation trajectory into an NK-like subset after CD19 CAR T cell infusion in patients with B cell malignancies. Nature Communications 14 (1), 7767 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43656-7
- C Cai, J Samir, MR Pirozyan, TN Adikari, M Gupta, P Leung, B Hughes, ...F. Luciani. Identification of human progenitors of exhausted CD8+ T cells associated with elevated IFN-γ response in early phase of viral infection. Nature communications 13 (1), 7543 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35281-7
- DV Bagaev, RMA Vroomans, J Samir, U Stervbo, C Rius, G Dolton, ...F. Luciani*, M.Shughay*. VDJdb in 2019: database extension, new analysis infrastructure and a T-cell receptor motif compendium. Nucleic Acids Research 48 (D1), D1057-D1062 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6943061/
Our experts
Fabio Luciani - Group Leader
Professor Fabio Luciani is a senior researcher in Systems Immunology and Artificial Intelligence at the School of Biomedical Sciences UNSW Sydney, and visiting professor at Weill Cornell Medicine (NYC, USA). He is a theoretical physicist by training (Masters, Bologna University Italy), and received his PhD in Immunology and Biophysics (2006) from the Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany). His research experience is interdisciplinary, having trained and worked across immunology, genomics, machine learning, classical statistics, computational biology, and bioinformatics. His laboratory has expertise in both experimental and computational immunology, focusing on single cell technologies to study adaptive immune responses and cellular therapies against autoimmunity and cancer. His research currently focusses on single cell genomics applied to immunotherapies, such as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell therapies, and focusing on hematological malignancies, and autoimmune diseases (e.g., coeliac disease). His team has extensive collaborations nationally and overseas including University of Pennsylvania and Houston Methodist Hospital.
Team members
- Jerome Samir (AI, T cell receptors, single cell genomics), focus on identifying TCR and other specific targets that characterise refractory celiac.
- Vu Pham (part-time) Postdoc (AI, single cell genomics).
- Martina Bonomi PHD student working on AI applied to very large data sets of T cells from patients receiving immunotherapy (immune checkpoint mostly).
- Arman Safavi PhD student (AI, single cell genomics) Analysis of CAR T cell therapy using single cell multi-omics.
- Esmaeil Poorvar PHD student. Iintestinal immunology focussing on autoimmunity.
Honor Students
- Himanshu Botre
Research Theme
Cancer | Microbiome, Infection, Immunity and Inflammation |