Skin, Inflammation, Informatics and Neoplasia
Skin, Inflammation, Informatics and Neoplasia (SkIIN)
Who we are | The executive team | Research themes | Research projects
The skin is our largest organ: the boundary between the body and the environment, and the immune system’s first line of defence. In collaboration with the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, we’re using cutting edge technologies, and leveraging critical advances in genomics and immunotherapy to gain insights into disease processes and develop novel approaches to management.
Who we are
Our team combines leading expertise in Skin research across Inflammatory dermatoses, Informatics and Neoplasia, with established collaborations across disciplines, including oncology, pathology, cardiology, endocrinology, infectious diseases, radiology, transplant medicine, rheumatology, autoimmunity, data science, artificial intelligence, data engineering, bioinformatics, biostatistics, genomics, immunoproteomics, immunology and microbiome, pharmacology and drug discovery.
The executive team
Co-Heads
Program Leads
Dr Miles Andrews is a Senior Research Fellow and leads the Cancer and Host Dynamics Group in the School of Translational Medicine at Monash University. He is also a Medical Oncologist and Head of Immuno-oncology at The Alfred and leads the Neoplasia stream of the SkIIN Discovery Program.
Dr Asolina Braun leads the Skin Immunology Group in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University. She obtained a PhD in Infection Biology by establishing a novel intralymphatic injection technique to track how immune cells migrate from the periphery to the draining lymph nodes. During postdoctoral studies, she developed a keen interest in skin-resident CD8+ memory T cells (TRM) and immunopeptidomics. Now, Dr. Braun’s group combines mass spectrometry-based antigen discovery approaches with TRM biology research to gain a better understanding of the antigen-specific mechanisms that make or break tolerance, with a focus on skin immunity. Find out more about 
Dr Zhen Yu is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Level 1 (EL1) Research Fellow in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, and joins the Skin, Inflammation, Informatics and Neoplasia (SkIIN) Discovery Program as a Program Lead. His research focuses on artificial intelligence for precision dermatology and digital health, with applications in diagnosing skin conditions, improving skin cancer screening and management, and understanding biological ageing and its relationship to systemic health. He develops multimodal AI approaches, including foundation models, that integrate imaging with clinical, genomic and longitudinal data to support personalized care. Dr Yu leads AI development for the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis (ACEMID), working with clinical collaborators to advance melanoma screening and monitoring through 3D total body photography and dermoscopy. He also directs the AI modelling component of the AUTOMATE-ME clinical trial. As a Chief Investigator on multiple NHMRC grants, his current research includes the Pixel Melanoma project and an Investigator Grant exploring the skin as a window into systemic health. Dr Yu has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, including work in Nature Medicine, npj Digital Medicine and IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. He contributed to the development of PanDerm, a multimodal foundation model for clinical dermatology, and the Pixel Melanoma project recognized with the NHMRC Marshall and Warren Ideas Grant Award. His translational achievements include a commercialized AI tool supporting sexually transmitted infection diagnosis and patented and patent-pending technologies for skin lesion diagnosis and biological age estimation. Find out more about 
Ms Céline Pattaroni is a group leader in the Department of Immunology at Monash University, where she leads the Computational Immunology group, part of the Mucosal Immunology lab. With postgraduate degrees in Medical Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Céline specialises in leveraging computational tools to integrate multi-omics data from clinical samples. Her research primarily focuses on childhood asthma and atopic dermatitis, utilising a comprehensive approach that includes microbiome profiling, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. In the era of omics technologies and artificial intelligence, her passion lies in harnessing the power of big data to extract meaningful insights. By applying these advanced methods to the skin, our largest organ, she aims to unravel complex disease mechanisms and discover information that traditional approaches could not reveal. Céline's work has significantly advanced the understanding of early-life immune-microbial dynamics, with publications in high-impact journals such as Cell Host & Microbe and Nature Immunology. She has secured over $4.7 million in competitive funding, including a recent Sanofi Pathways Grant for atopic dermatitis research. Through her innovative research, Céline continues to contribute to the development of precision medicine in immunology. Find out more about 
A/Prof Shiva Akbarzadeh heads the Skin Bioengineering Laboratory with over 16 years' experience in developing novel technologies in skin tissue engineering and translational research. She is the lead inventor of a novel bioengineered skin and is currently managing trialling it in a phase 1b clinical trial. A/Prof Akbarzadeh's innovations and leadership in this field has been recognised by a number of publications in peer review Q1 ranked journals. She is a recipient of a number of national and international prizes in cell therapy and wound care. A/Prof Akbarzadeh has secured over AUD $3.5M funding for skin bioengineering and burns research. She is the curator of a postgraduate module on 'Skin Stem cell and Therapies', that has been taught at Monash University since 2021. Find out more about Research themes
Image analysis/AI
Multi-modal based Foundation Models (FM), which are large-scale AI models with billions of parameters capable of performing a wide range of tasks, represent a key paradigm in our dermatology AI research. Through our data-linkage and center programs, such as ACEMID, we aim to train and apply FM Dermatology to address overdiagnosis and variability, improve the selection of patients at high risk of disease progression, and positively impact care delivery.
Integrative Bioinformatics and Microbiome
Our goal is to unravel the complexities of skin diseases through multiomics profiling, which involves integrating data from various biological layers. This approach includes analysing information from different skin cells and the diverse microbes that inhabit our skin, known as the microbiome. By combining these datasets, we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of skin health and disease, such as eczema.
Neoplasia
Our skin protects us from the external environment, but prolonged and repeated insults like UV radiation, physical, chemical and microbial damage, and inflammation all take their toll, contributing to skin cancer formation. We aim to reduce the morbidity and mortality of skin cancers through better use of existing anti-cancer therapies, and by discovering new ways to prevent or treat skin cancer. To achieve this, we study skin cancer patient cohorts, clinical biospecimens and pre-clinical cancer models using techniques such as next generation sequencing, multiparameter spectral flow cytometry, and blood-based biomarker screening. Through interdisciplinary cooperation we hope to accelerate our understanding of how the skin, immune cells, and the broader environment interact to cause – or defeat – skin cancer.
Skin Bioengineering
Severe burns are associated with considerable morbidity, mortality and psychosocial impacts. They are also among the most expensive traumatic injuries to treat and manage, entailing long periods of hospitalisation and rehabilitation, and costly wound and scar treatment. Our laboratory, located in the Department of Surgery, is uniquely positioned to address challenges in burns treatment. We are part of the Victorian Adult Burns Service, the Alfred Health-run statewide service for all adult severely injured burns patients. We are committed to a bench-to-bedside model of research to develop life saving therapies and achieve better long-term patient outcomes, with several clinical trials in progress. Find out more
Skin Immunology
The involvement of the immune system in skin can provide a beneficial defence against environmental threats or trigger detrimental pathology. By exploring the diverse immune cell types and their interactions within the skin’s unique epidermal and dermal microenvironments, we aim to uncover the mechanisms behind skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and skin infections. We utilise advanced immunological approaches, mass spectrometry and spatial technology to enhance our understanding of skin-specific immunity and pave the way for innovative treatments.
