Dr Jessica Cale is an emerging leader in antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics, developing precision RNA treatments for rare genetic, neuromuscular and global health disorders. She is a Research Fellow within the Molecular Therapy Laboratory at the Perron Institute and Murdoch University’s Personalised Medicine Centre.

Since completing her PhD at Murdoch University in 2021, where she specialised in antisense therapies for Marfan syndrome, Dr Cale has built significant experience designing, optimising and validating antisense therapies and patient-derived disease models. She contributes to a multi-year research program with Sarepta Therapeutics and has worked on industry-funded projects with Senisca and Lyramid, spanning neuromuscular disease, healthy ageing and cancer. Her translational research has also resulted in her being named as an inventor on an international patent application.

Dr Cale is a named investigator on major nationally and philanthropically funded programs accelerating antisense therapy development, rare disease research infrastructure and preclinical models of childhood neurological disorders. Her current research is particularly driven by the unmet needs of children with rare genetic conditions and the challenge of developing treatments for very small patient populations.

She is equally committed to ensuring that families help shape this research. Dr Cale has led community conversations about personalised medicines and chairs a consumer advisory group, translating complex science for people with lived experience and using their priorities to inform future research pathways. Her work connects molecular innovation, industry translation and consumer partnership to advance treatments for people who currently have few or no therapeutic options.

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