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Biography
Dr Peter Allen is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Translational Genomics Program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Medicine and Health. His research applies epigenomics and single-cell multiomics to understand the mechanisms of pathological ageing in fibrotic lung disease, with a focus on cellular senescence in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Dr Allen leads the...view more
Dr Peter Allen is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Translational Genomics Program at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Medicine and Health. His research applies epigenomics and single-cell multiomics to understand the mechanisms of pathological ageing in fibrotic lung disease, with a focus on cellular senescence in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Dr Allen leads the single-cell and epigenomics interstitial lung disease program in the laboratory of Professor Joseph Powell. In collaboration with The Prince Charles Hospital, QIMR Berghofer, the Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis and the Translational Genomics Research Institute, he is currently working to build a single-nucleus multiome atlas of senescence in IPF lungs.
Dr Allen completed his PhD in Genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2023), where he studied epigenetic changes in systemic sclerosis and lupus. His work has been published in Journal of Autoimmunity, Clinical Epigenetics and PLoS One, with further papers in press in Nature and Nature Genetics. His research is supported by the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis, and he has received multiple awards for his presentations, including Best Talk at the 2026 TSANZ ASM.
My Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Genetics
University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, 2023
Thesis: Epigenetic Aberrancies in Systemic Sclerosis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Bachelor of Science (BSc), Biology (minor: Applied Physics)
Trevecca Nazarene University, USA, 2016
My Awards
| 2026 | Best Talk, Cell, Immunology and Molecular Biology SIG, TSANZ Annual Scientific Meeting |
| 2026 | Best Lightning Talk, ABACBS EMCR Virtual Symposium |
| 2026 | Best Lightning Talk (Runner-up), Sydney Bioinformatics Symposium |
| 2026 | Emerging Talent Poster Presenter, National Respiratory Leadership Summit |
| 2020 | Certificate of Achievement, HMX Fundamentals: Immunology, Harvard Medical School |
| 2019 | Inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (Chapter #182), University of Alabama at Birmingham |
My Research Activities
Cellular senescence and ageing in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is an ageing-associated disease, but it is unclear which lung cell types carry the greatest senescence burden and how this drives disease. Dr Allen’s work analyses senescence across a large single-nucleus multiome atlas of IPF and control lung explants. The aim is to identify which cell populations are most affected, how senescence relates to changes in cellular composition, and whether senescent cells express surface markers that could be targeted for isolation and therapy. This work is being translated into functional testing of senolytic drugs on cells sorted from patient explants.
Macrophage biology in interstitial lung disease
Dr Allen is investigating how alveolar and interstitial macrophage populations shift in fibrotic lung disease, including loss of resident macrophages and emergence of profibrotic states. This includes single-cell analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage from patients with interstitial lung disease, to better understand macrophage trajectories and heterogeneity.
Epigenomics of lung ageing and disease
Building on his doctoral training which used DNA methylation and chromatin regulation, Dr Allen applies epigenomic approaches to ask how epigenetic ageing and gene regulation contribute to fibrotic remodelling. He collaborates on studies linking accelerated epigenetic ageing to survival outcomes in pulmonary fibrosis.
Genetics of cell type-specific gene regulation
As part of the Powell laboratory, Dr Allen contributes to large-scale single-cell genomics projects examining how genetic variation shapes chromatin accessibility and gene expression across immune and other cell types, and how this informs disease risk.
Collaboration and community
Dr Allen coordinates multi-institutional studies with clinical and research partners at The Prince Charles Hospital, QIMR Berghofer, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis. He also contributes to the single-cell research community through workshops and hackathons.