Overview
The Hickey Lab sits at the interface of engineering and immunology, using and developing systems immunology tools to investigate tissue structure in situ. We also use multiplexed imaging and computational techniques to characterize spatial cellular responses related to the effectiveness of anti-cancer cell or biomaterial therapies. John has received a number of awards for his work, including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, ARCS Scholar, Siebel Scholar, NCI Postdoctoral Fellowship, and American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
·
2024 - Present
Biomedical Engineering,
Pratt School of Engineering
Assistant Professor in Biostatistics & Bioinformatics
·
2024 - Present
Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Division of Integrative Genomics,
Biostatistics & Bioinformatics
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
2024 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
SPACEc: a streamlined, interactive Python workflow for multiplexed image processing and analysis.
Journal Article Nature communications · November 2025 Multiplexed imaging has transformed our ability to study tissue organization by capturing thousands of cells and molecules in their native context. However, these datasets are enormous, often comprising tens of gigabytes per image, and require complex work ... Full text CiteComparative Evaluation of Antibody-Oligonucleotide Conjugation Strategies for Multiplexed Imaging Applications.
Journal Article Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology · November 2025 Antibody oligonucleotide conjugates (AOCs) have emerged as versatile tools with applications spanning diagnostics, therapeutics, and high-dimensional imaging. One major application of these is in multiplexed imaging techniques such as Co-detection by imagi ... Full text CiteConcerted changes in Epithelium and Stroma: a multi-scale, multi-omics analysis of progression from Barrett's Esophagus to adenocarcinoma.
Journal Article Developmental cell · October 2025 Esophageal adenocarcinoma arises from Barrett's esophagus, a metaplastic condition. Multi-omics profiling, integrating single-cell transcriptomics, extracellular matrix proteomics, tissue mechanics and spatial proteomics of the paths of progression from sq ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
CAREER: Origins of Cellular Heterogeneity by Dynamically-linked Multiplexed Imaging
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2025 - 2030Engineered Lipid Nanoparticles and Microgel Matrix to Program Th1/Th2 Immune Response
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Johns Hopkins University · 2025 - 2030Multiscale Modeling of Influenza Neutralizing Antibody and Fc Effector Biology
ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2024 - 2029View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine ·
2019
Ph.D.