Dr Daniel Fernández-Ruiz
03 8344 5715 | danielfr@unimelb.edu.au
- Position:
- Senior Research Officer
- Theme(s):
- Immunology, Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
- Discipline(s):
- Discovery Research
- Unit(s):
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology (DMI)
- Lab Group(s):
- Heath Group
Daniel Fernández-Ruiz is an immunologist specialised in T cell biology and immunity to malaria. He received bachelor’s degrees in Biology and biochemistry from the University of Oviedo, Spain, and obtained his PhD from the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2008. He then joined Bill Heath’s lab at the University of Melbourne to study CD4 and CD8 T cell-based immunity to malaria. The focus of his research is to understand the mechanisms that govern the generation and maintenance of T cell memory, and to use this knowledge for the design of novel T cell-based vaccines.
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Key Achievements
Publications
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Daniel Fernández-Ruiz identified liver-resident memory CD8 T cells as efficient mediators of immunity against malaria. He pioneered the study of these cells and delineated the elements that promote their formation, also defining novel T cell antigens within liver and blood stage malaria parasites. On the basis of these discoveries, he developed novel experimental vaccines that can harness the remarkable protective potential of tissue-resident memory T cells against malaria. Daniel also generated malaria parasite-specific T cell receptor-transgenic mouse lines (PbT-I, PbT-II) that facilitate fundamental T cell function studies in the context of infection and vaccination. His work has been supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the CASS foundation.
Research GroupsLoading ORCID data…-
Heath Group
Bill’s group’s cellular immunology research currently focuses on understanding killer T cell function with particular reference to improved vaccination strategies and understanding malarial disease.
Lab Team
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Melanie DamtsisResearch Assistant
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Senior Research Officer
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Senior Research Officer
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Senior Research Officer
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Lauren HolzResearch Officer
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Zhengyu (Jeff) GePhD Candidate
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Yu Cheng (Gordon) ChuaPhD Candidate
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Thiago Maass SteinerPhD Candidate
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Shirley LeMasters student
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