Dr Fei Deng

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Dr Deng is currently an NHMRC EL1 Fellow and NSW Cancer Institute ECR Fellow. Dr Deng received his Ph.D. degree from the University of New South Wales (�ʹڲ�Ʊ), Sydney, Australia. Dr Deng’s research interests include point-of-care biosensing devices, CRISPR biosensing device and in vivo biosensing device. To date, Dr Deng has published over 40 journal articles, including Nature Communications, AFM, Small, Water Research, BBI etc. In addition, he has secured over $12M research grants, including AEA, CRCP, NHMRC Idea Grant, ARC Discovery Project etc. His biosensor research has been internationally recognized, leading to an ECR Award from Royal Society of NSW, an ECR Award from ECAN, and multiple travel grants. Additionally, his innovations have gained significant industry recognition, leading to a startup company (Casbio Pty Ltd, co-founder) and a research consultant of Avicena Systems Limited.

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Phone

0451876009

E-mail

fei.deng@unsw.edu.au

Journal articles | 2025

Chia S; Guo T; Goldys EM; Payne SC; Duan W; Lovell NH; Shivdasani MN; Deng F, 2025, 'A CRISPR mediated point-of-care assay for the detection of mucosal calprotectin in an animal model of ulcerative colitis', Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, 10, pp. e10725,

Journal articles | 2025

Deng F; Sang R; Li Y; Yang B; Zhai X; Xue R; Zhang C; Deng W; Goldys EM, 2025, 'Hairpin-locker mediated CRISPR/Cas tandem system for ultrasensitive detection of DNA without pre-amplification', Microchemical Journal, 210,

Journal articles | 2025

Johnston L; Baharfar M; Chi Y; Bardet L; Mousavi M; Deng F; Lin J; Yong J; Liu L; Kalantar-Zadeh K; Tang J, 2025, 'Liquid-Metal-Driven Synthesis of Mesoporous Noble Metal Thin Films and Micropatterns for Biosensing', ACS Nano, 19, pp. 8727 - 8738,

Journal articles | 2025

Luo X; Hu E; Deng F; Zhang C; Xian Y, 2025, 'A dual-enzyme activated fluorescent probe for precise identification of tumor senescence', Chemical Science,

Journal articles | 2025

Pan L; Jiang W; Deng F; Fang R; Jin S; Yang D, 2025, 'Signal-amplification strategy and advances in electrochemistry-based CRISPR/Cas12 biosensing', Chemical Engineering Journal, 508,

Journal articles | 2025

Pan L; Ma Y; Sang R; Lu X; Fan X; Li M; Zuo Q; Wang A; Deng F, 2025, 'Optimization of CRISPR/Cas12f1 guide RNAs using AlphaFold 3 for enhanced nucleic acid detection', Microchemical Journal, 212,

Journal articles | 2025

Pan L; Wang A; Sang R; Lu X; Chen W; Ma Y; Deng F, 2025, 'AlphaFold 3 sheds insights into chemical enhancer-induced structural changes in Cas12a RNPs', Health Nanotechnology, 1,

Journal articles | 2025

Wang Y; Xue Y; Hong X; Wang H; Zhou C; Wang W; Sheng J; Liang P; Li H; Xu Q; Wang Y; Liu K; Shang L; Peng H; Chen F; Zhang K; Yin H; Wang Y; Deng F; Feng S; Huang WE; Li B, 2025, 'Functionalized microwell laser sorting method for single-cell viable microbial detection', Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 427,

Journal articles | 2025

Xie Y; Guo J; Hu J; Li Y; Zhang Z; Zhu Y; Deng F; Qi J; Zhou Y; Chen W, 2025, 'A factorial design-optimized microfluidic LNP vaccine elicits potent magnesium-adjuvating cancer immunotherapy', Materials Today Bio, 32,

Journal articles | 2024

Chen S; Fang R; Li Y; Deng F; Liu X; Yang D, 2024, 'CRISPR/Cas12a-powered CLASA towards OTA ultrasensitive detection in cereal samples', Microchemical Journal, 196, pp. 109691,

Journal articles | 2024

Deng F; Li Y; Yang B; Sang R; Deng W; Kansara M; Lin F; Thavaneswaran S; Thomas DM; Goldys EM, 2024, 'Topological barrier to Cas12a activation by circular DNA nanostructures facilitates autocatalysis and transforms DNA/RNA sensing', Nature Communications, 15, pp. 1818,

Journal articles | 2024

Deng F; Sang R; Li Y; Yang D; Mckinnirey F; Deng W; Goldys EM, 2024, 'Towards understanding Trans-cleavage of natural and synthetic nucleic acids by Cas12a for sensitive CRISPR biosensing', Microchemical Journal, 207,

Journal articles | 2024

Wu X; Pi NN; Deng F; Tang SY; Zhang CC; Zhu L; Sun FF; He XY; Li HQ; Zhao SL; Xiang R; Li Y, 2024, 'Circular DNA enhanced amplification-free CRISPR/Cas12a assays for end-user friendly ultra-sensitive Porphyromonas gingivalis diagnosis', Microchemical Journal, 207,

Journal articles | 2024

Xue R; Deng F; Guo T; Epps A; Lovell NH; Shivdasani MN, 2024, 'Needle-Shaped Biosensors for Precision Diagnoses: From Benchtop Development to In Vitro and In Vivo Applications', Biosensors, 14, pp. 391,

Journal articles | 2024

Yang X; Bui TA; Mei H; Aksoy YA; Deng F; Hutvagner G; Deng W, 2024, 'Exploring the Potential and Challenges of CRISPR Delivery and Therapeutics for Genetic Disease Treatment', Advanced Functional Materials, 34,

Journal articles | 2023

Arona JC; Hall TJ; Mckinnirey F; Deng F, 2023, 'Comparison of four commercial immunomagnetic separation kits for the detection of Cryptosporidium', Journal of Water and Health, 21, pp. 1580 - 1590,

Journal articles | 2023

Deng F; Li Y; Hall T; Vesey G; Goldys EM, 2023, 'Bi-functional antibody-CRISPR/Cas12a ribonucleoprotein conjugate for improved immunoassay performance', Analytica Chimica Acta, 1259, pp. 341211,

Journal articles | 2023

Li Y; Liu L; Qiao L; Deng F, 2023, 'Universal CRISPR/Cas12a-associated aptasensor suitable for rapid detection of small proteins with a plate reader', Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 11, pp. 1201175,

Journal articles | 2023

Zhang C; Tang J; Xie W; Allioux FM; Cao Z; Biazik JM; Tajik M; Deng F; Li Y; Abbasi R; Baharfar M; Mousavi M; Esrafilzadeh D; Kalantar-Zadeh K, 2023, 'Mechanistic Observation of Interactions between Macrophages and Inorganic Particles with Different Densities', Small, 19, pp. e2204781,

Journal articles | 2022

Deng F; Li Y; Li B; Goldys EM, 2022, 'Increasing trans-cleavage catalytic efficiency of Cas12a and Cas13a with chemical enhancers: Application to amplified nucleic acid detection', Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 373, pp. 132767,

Journal articles | 2022

Deng F; Li Y; Qiao L; Goldys E, 2022, 'A CRISPR/Cas12a-assisted on-fibre immunosensor for ultrasensitive small protein detection in complex biological samples', Analytica Chimica Acta, 1192, pp. 339351,

Journal articles | 2022

Deng F; Qiao L; Li Y, 2022, 'A fluorescent immunosensor on optical fibre for the multiplex detection of proinflammatory cytokines', Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research, 37, pp. 100501,

Journal articles | 2022

Li Y; Deng F; Goldys EM, 2022, 'A simple and versatile CRISPR/Cas12a-based immunosensing platform: Towards attomolar level sensitivity for small protein diagnostics', Talanta, 246, pp. 123469,

Journal articles | 2022

Sang R; Deng F; Engel A; Goldys E; Deng W, 2022, 'Lipid-polymer nanocarrier platform enables X-ray induced photodynamic therapy against human colorectal cancer cells', Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 155, pp. 113837,

Journal articles | 2021

Li Y; Deng F; Goldys EM, 2021, 'A versatile CRISPR/Cas12a-based sensitivity amplifier suitable for commercial HRP-based ELISA kits', Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 347, pp. 130533,

Journal articles | 2021

Li Y; Deng F; Hall T; Vesey G; Goldys EM, 2021, 'CRISPR/Cas12a-powered immunosensor suitable for ultra-sensitive whole Cryptosporidium oocyst detection from water samples using a plate reader', Water Research, 203, pp. 117553,

Journal articles | 2020

Arman A; Deng F; Goldys EM; Liu G; Hutchinson MR, 2020, 'In vivo intrathecal IL-1β quantification in rats: Monitoring the molecular signals of neuropathic pain', Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 88, pp. 442 - 450,

Journal articles | 2020

Deng F; Arman A; Goldys EM; Hutchinson MR; Liu G, 2020, 'A Method for in Vivo Quantification of Cytokine IL-1β in the Rat Intrathecal Space', ACS Applied Bio Materials, 3, pp. 539 - 546,

Journal articles | 2019

Deng F; Goldys EM; Liu G, 2019, 'Molecularly imprinted polymer-based reusable biosensing device on stainless steel for spatially localized detection of cytokine IL-1Β', Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical, 292, pp. 277 - 283,

Journal articles | 2019

Deng F; Li Y; Hossain MJ; Kendig MD; Arnold R; Goldys EM; Morris MJ; Liu G, 2019, 'Polymer brush based fluorescent immunosensor for direct monitoring of interleukin-1β in rat blood', Analyst, 144, pp. 5682 - 5690,

Journal articles | 2019

Zhang F; Deng F; Liu GJ; Middleton R; Inglis DW; Anwer A; Wang S; Liu G, 2019, 'IFN-γ-induced signal-on fluorescence aptasensors: From hybridization chain reaction amplification to 3D optical fiber sensing interface towards a deployable device for cytokine sensing', Molecular Systems Design and Engineering, 4, pp. 872 - 881,

Journal articles | 2018

Zhang Y; Ge X; Li MC; Deng F; Oh J; Cho UR, 2018, 'The properties of rice bran carbon/nitrile-butadiene rubber composites fabricated by latex compounding method', Polymer Composites, 39, pp. E687 - E696,

Journal articles | 2017

Deng F; Li MC; Ge X; Zhang Y; Cho UR, 2017, 'Cellulose nanocrystals/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite films: Effect of preparation method and loading on the optical, thermal, mechanical, and gas barrier properties', Polymer Composites, 38, pp. E137 - E146,

Journal articles | 2017

Ge X; Deng F; Zhang Y; Cho UR, 2017, 'Synergistic reinforcing effects of molybdenum disulfide and bentonite in rubber based nanocomposites', Journal of Vinyl and Additive Technology, 23, pp. E211 - E215,

Journal articles | 2017

Ge X; Zhang Y; Deng F; Cho UR, 2017, 'Effects of silane coupling agents on tribological properties of bentonite/nitrile butadiene rubber composites', Polymer Composites, 38, pp. 2347 - 2357,

Journal articles | 2017

Zhang Y; Ge X; Deng F; Li MC; Cho UR, 2017, 'Fabrication and characterization of rice bran carbon/styrene butadiene rubber composites fabricated by latex compounding method', Polymer Composites, 38, pp. 2594 - 2602,

Journal articles | 2016

Deng F; Zhang Y; Ge X; Li M; Li X; Cho UR, 2016, 'Graft copolymers of microcrystalline cellulose as reinforcing agent for elastomers based on natural rubber', Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 133,

Journal articles | 2016

Zhang Y; Fei D; Xin G; Cho UR, 2016, 'Surface modification of novel rice bran carbon functionalized with (3-Mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane and its influence on the properties of styrene-butadiene rubber composites', Journal of Composite Materials, 50, pp. 2987 - 2999,

Journal articles | 2015

Deng F; Ge X; Zhang Y; Li MC; Cho UR, 2015, 'Synthesis and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymers and their application as rubber reinforcements', Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 132,

Journal articles | 2015

Zhang Y; Li X; Ge X; Deng F; Cho UR, 2015, 'Effect of coupling agents and ionic liquid on the properties of rice bran carbon/carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber composites', Macromolecular Research, 23, pp. 952 - 959,

Journal articles | 1995

DENG F; DU YR; YE CH; WANG KX; CHEN TH; DING DT; WANG JZ; LI HX, 1995, 'DISTRIBUTION OF SODIUM-CATIONS IN ZEOLITE-OMEGA WITH NA-23 MAS AND 2-DIMENSIONAL NUTATION NMR (VOL 39, PG 1964, 1994)', CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN, 40, pp. 626 - 626
Preprints | 2025

Yang Y; Guo J; Qi J; Deng W; Hu J; Hasan MW; Deng F; Zhou Y; Song Z; Deng W; Chen W, 2025, A Lyophilizable LNP Vaccine Enables STING-Reinforced Postoperational Adjuvant Immunotherapy,

Preprints | 2024

Chia S; Guo T; Goldys E; Payne S; Lovell N; Shivdasani M; Deng F, 2024, A CRISPR mediated point-of-care assay for the detection of mucosal calprotectin in an animal model of ulcerative colitis,

Preprints | 2024

Deng F; Gulati S; Sang R; Li Y; Goldys E, 2024, Modulating Cas13atrans-cleavage by double strand RNA: Application to the development of an autocatalytic sensor,

Preprints | 2024

Deng F; Sang R; Li Y; Yang B; Zhai X; Xue R; Zhang C; Deng W; Goldys E, 2024, Hairpin-locker mediated CRISPR/Cas tandem system for ultrasensitive detection of DNA without pre-amplification,

Preprints | 2024

Deng F; Sang R; Li Y; Yang D; Deng W; Goldys E, 2024, Towards Understanding Trans-Cleavage of Natural and Synthetic Nucleic Acids by Cas12a for Sensitive CRISPR Biosensing,

Conference Papers | 2024

Deodhar JR; Zhang C; Guo T; Xue R; Shivdasani MN; Deng F, 2024, 'Point-of-care testing of Procalcitonin using lateral flow assay', in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), United States, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 2024 46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), United States, 15 July 2024 - 19 July 2024,

Conference Papers | 2024

Qiao L; Guo T; Xue R; Sang R; Yang D; Deng F, 2024, 'Flexible chip-based wearable sensors enhanced by gold nanoparticles for IFN-γ detection', in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), United States, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 2024 46th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), United States, 15 July 2024 - 19 July 2024,

Preprints | 2024

Yan M; Zhang P; Wang Y; Wang H; Li J; Guo X; Zeng X; Feng Z; Gao Y; Deng F; Zhu B; Deng D; Ma L; Feng Y; Wu H-J; Zhao Y; Li J, 2024, Spatiotemporal transcriptomic analyses reveal molecular gradient patterning during development and the tonotopic organization along the cochlear axis,

Conference Papers | 2023

Deng F; Goldys E; Li Y; SANG R; Hall T; Zhang C, 2023, 'RNA reporter based CRISPR/Cas12a biosensing platform for sensitive detection of circulating tumor DNA', in 2023 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Sydney, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Sydney, 24 July 2023 - 27 July 2023,

Conference Papers | 2023

Deng F; Kaur J; Goldys E; Morris M, 2023, 'QDs-based fluorescent lateral flow assays for Point-of-care testing of insulin', in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Sydney, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2023, Sydney, 24 July 2023 - 27 July 2023,

Preprints | 2023

Deng F; Sang R; Li Y; Deng W; Goldys E, 2023, Bifunctional circular DNA amplifier transforms a classic CRISPR/Cas sensor into an ultrasensitive autocatalytic sensor,

Conference Papers | 2023

Li Y; Deng F; Li Y; Goldys E; Zhang C, 2023, 'Integrated RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a system towards Point-of-Care H. pylori detection', in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Sydney, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2023, Sydney, 24 July 2023 - 27 July 2023,

Conference Papers | 2023

Yang D; Deng F, 2023, 'Paper based SERS aptasensor towards dual-modal detection of interferon gamma', Sydney, presented at 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Sydney, 24 July 2023 - 27 July 2023

Conference Papers | 2023

Zhang C; Deng F; Goldys E; Hall T; Li Y, 2023, 'Paper-based lateral flow assay for the point-of-care detection of neurofilament light chain', in Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Sydney, pp. 1 - 4, presented at 45th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2023, Sydney, 24 July 2023 - 27 July 2023,

Preprints |

Deng F; Li Y; Li B; Goldys EM, Increasing Trans-Cleavage Catalytic Efficiency of Cas12a and Cas13a with Chemical Enhancers Enables Amplified Nucleic Acid Detection,

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NHMRC Investigator EL1, 2025, sole-CI
Early Career Fellowship of Cancer Institute NSW, 2025-2027, sole-CI
NICE-�ʹڲ�Ʊ "Proof-of-Scale" Fund, 2024-2025, CIA
Australia's Economic Accelerator, 2024-2025, CIA
Cooperative Research Centres Projects, 2024-2026, co-CI��
�ʹڲ�Ʊ-Tsinghua Collaborative Research Seed Program, 2023, co-CI
NHMRC Idea Grant, 2024-2026, co-CI��
ARC Discovery Project, 2024-2026, co-CI��
�ʹڲ�Ʊ_NMHA Seed Funidng, 2023, co-CI
Torch Innovation, 2023, CIA��
Health Security Systems Australia, 2023, co-CI.��
NSSN Grand Challenge Fund, 2023, co-CI.��
3Rs Grant from �ʹڲ�Ʊ, 2022, co-CI.
Industry competitive research award, 2022-2024, co-CI.
Two Innovation connections grants, 2021 (RG211246, RG210091),��CI on both.
One EDI and ECAN seed funding from �ʹڲ�Ʊ, 2021, CIA.

Royal Society of New South Wales Early Career Research and Service Citation Award (2024)
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN) Travel Award (2023)
Diversity in Engineering Academic Visitors Funding Award (2023)
�ʹڲ�Ʊ Engineering ECA Awards – Innovation and Engagement Award (2022)
Diversity in Engineering Academic Visitors Funding Award (2023)
ARC Centre for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP) Travel Award (2022)
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN) Travel Award (2022)
PhD Scholarship in Sandwich assay based deployable biosensors (2017-2021)
Excellent Graduate Thesis (Master, 2016)
Foreigners Scholarship (Master, 2013-2016)
Secondary Prize of Tianjin chemistry competition (Bachelor, 2011)

Patent

CRISPR/Cas-associated detection assays, methods and kits. (2023) PCT Patent. International application No. PCT/AU2022/050829. ��
Ultrasensitive CRISPR biosensors assisted by nucleic acid mediators. (2023) PCT Patent. International application No. PCT/AU2023/051144. ��
Biosensor. (2023) Australian provisional patent No. P0046904AU

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My Research Supervision

PhD Supervision Experience

Joint-supervising PhD research project: CRISPR sensor for precision oncology (R. Xue), 2025-now
Co-supervising PhD research project: AI-assisted, microfluidics-enabled CRISPR biosensors for precision diagnosis (R. Wang), 2025-now
Co-supervising��PhD research project: Development of�� rapid and sensitive methods for the detection of waterborne pathogens��, 2024 (J. Arona)
Co-supervising��PhD research project: Programmable nucleases and applications in biosensing, 2023 (X. Zhai)
Joint-supervising��PhD research project: Novel biosensors for exosome detection, 2023 (P. Mohammadnejad)
Co-supervising��PhD research project: Capture and detection of waterborne parasites using existing and emergent technologies, 2021 (T. Hall)

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�� Thesis students

Primary-supervising PG Thesis project: CRISPR based autocatalytic sensor for the detection of DNA methylation towards precision cancer diagnosis (K. Chen), 2024
Primary-supervising PG Thesis project: CRISPR sensor for the detection of RNA methylation towards precision cancer diagnosis (F. Wu), 2024.
Primary-supervising PG Thesis project: AlphaFold 3 powered CRISPR base aptamer sensor for the detection of small proteins (J. Zhang), 2024
Primary-supervising UG Thesis project: CRISPR base electrochemical biosensor for cancer diagnosis (L. Stewart), 2024
Primary-supervising PG Thesis project: The development of in vivo biosensor for long-term monitoring of inflammatory biomarkers (W. Fu), 2024. She was awarded the “Great Science Produces Great Patient Outcomes Award” at �ʹڲ�Ʊ BESS x GSBmE Biomedical Engineering Projects Showcase and Industry Night 2024.
Primary-supervised��PG Thesis project: CRISPR/Cas powered aptasensor for the point-of-care diagnosis of IBD (K. Lyu), 2024
Primary-supervised��PG Thesis project: Precision diagnosis of single gene diseases using CRISPR technology (Y. Lin), 2024
Primary-supervised��UG Thesis project: Precision diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease using CRISPR technology (S. Xue), 2023-2024
Primary-supervised UG Thesis project: CRISPR/Cas12a Mediated Biosensing Assay for Point-of-Care Testing of Calprotectin (S. Chia), 2023
Primary-supervised PG Thesis project: Point-of-care testing of procalcitonin using lateral flow assay (J. Deodhar), 2023

My Teaching

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Industrial Training Coordinator, Biomedical Engineering, 2025
Instructor, Biomedical Instrumentation - BIOM9640, �ʹڲ�Ʊ, 2022-2023
Instructor, Applications of Light in Engineering, Technology and the Life Sciences - BIOM9811, �ʹڲ�Ʊ

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