Luigi Feriani

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

I like collecting and analysing data, and making computers do things.
I particularly like making computers collect and analyse data.

Experience

Senior Scientific Software Engineer

Australian Synchrotron - ANSTO, Melbourne, Australia

Designing, implementing, and testing the backend microservices architecture for spectroscopy group beamlines.

  • Developing APIs and backend-for-frontend to connect web user interfaces to the experiment orchestration and hardware abstraction layer
  • Liaising with beamline staff to gather requirements and provide training on newly developed tools
  • Regularly presenting updates to product owners and other stakeholders, showcasing the progress achieved
  • Collaborating with fellow scrum team members to promptly incorporate product owners' feedback and deliver continuous improvement in a Scaled Agile Framework
  • Developing tools to consolidate data from various sources, on the fly, into a unified data product
  • Contributing to the development of tools widely employed by the Scientific Computing group at large
2022 - present

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Imperial College London, London, UK

Working as a Data Scientist and Software Developer with Laboratory duties.
Developing a high-throughput pipeline to design combinations of drugs that affect a complex phenotype in a controlled manner.

  • Contributing to and maintaining Tierpsy Tracker
  • Developing software solutions for data analysis
  • Developing CNNs for image classification, to detect the cell-cycle stage of cancer cells, or contamination in multiwell plates
  • Liaising with imaging company to build a custom tracking system
  • Administering and maintaining several Linux imaging workstations
  • Programming a liquid handling robot to automate dilution, combination, and transfer of compounds
2018 - 2022

PhD in Physics

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Thesis: Understanding the Collective Dynamics of Motile Cilia in Human Airways.

  • Studied model systems for motile cilia in the airway epithelium
  • Developed a video analysis software to automatically measure the collective dynamics of in-vitro samples of live human bronchial epithelial ciliated cells from high-speed microscopy videos (beating frequency, spatial and temporal coherence, collective travelling waves)
  • Studied the efficacy of commercial and experimental drugs in restoring effective ciliary beating in samples from patients affected by Cystic Fibrosis
  • Improved a minimal model of beating cilia as free phase driven oscillators coupled via hydrodynamic interactions by coarse-graining the properties of the beating pattern using Resistive Force Theory
2014 - 2018

Education

PhD in Physics

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Thesis: Understanding the Collective Dynamics of Motile Cilia in Human Airways.
2014 - 2018

Master of Science in Physics

Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy
cum laude
2011 - 2013

Erasmus Exchange Program

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
2013

Bachelor of Science in Physics

Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy
cum laude
2008 - 2011

Skills

Software development & Tools
  • Programming, data visualisation, and simulations: Python (5 years), MATLAB (6 years), C/C++
  • Backend web development, leveraging FastAPI, Kafka, Redis, MongoDB, and relational databases
  • Operating systems: Linux, macOS, Windows
  • Experiment specification and orchestration: Bluesky Project
  • Containerisation, orchestration, and build automation: Docker, GitHub actions, Kubernetes
  • Scripting (bash), version control (git), high performance computing, databases (MySQL)
Data Analysis
  • Image and video analysis: segmentation, tracking, localisation, PIV, feature extraction
  • Time series analysis: signal processing, smoothing, Fourier analysis, autocorrelation
  • Convolutional Neural Networks for segmentation and classification
  • Regression, clustering, classification, dimensionality reduction methods
Communication and Workflow
  • Preparation of scientific articles and technical documentation
  • Public speaking, presenting complex information engagingly and with clarity
  • Excellent oral communication skills with expert and non-expert audiences
  • Experience liaising with industrial and research stakeholders, and gathering requirements
  • Effective collaboration within multidisciplinary teams
Laboratory skills
  • Optical microscopy, live-cell imaging, atomic force microscopy
  • Programming of liquid handling robots
  • C. elegans maintenance, cell culturing
  • Micro-fabrication (soft lithography), Cavendish Lab course in machine workshop
Languages
  • Italian (native)
  • English (fluent)
  • French (basic)

Interests

When I'm not at the computer, I like to keep active by going for a swim (especially in summer) or for the occasional run. I have fairly recently picked up photography as a hobby, and I like going on hikes and bringing my camera with me.

I have also started learning how to do latte art - funnily enough as an unexpected side-perk of working at the Synchrotron!