Rate My Professor Jessica Cale

Dr. Jessica Cale is a Research Fellow in the Molecular Therapy Laboratory at the Personalised Medicine Centre, part of the Health Futures Institute at Murdoch University. She holds a BSc (Hons) and a PhD from Murdoch University, completed in 2021 under the supervision of Professor Steve Wilton AO and Professor Sue Fletcher AO. Her doctoral research focused on antisense oligonucleotide-mediated alternative splicing strategies as potential therapies for Malan syndrome, a rare overgrowth syndrome involving connective tissue abnormalities. During her PhD, she received a Research Training Program scholarship from Murdoch University. Cale specializes in designing and applying short synthetic nucleic acid sequences called antisense oligonucleotides to treat rare diseases, diseases of poverty, and age-related disorders. With seven years of experience in therapeutic design for rare and global health disorders, she contributes to advancing personalised medicine.

Since 2021, Dr. Cale has been involved in commercial-in-confidence industry-funded research contracts with Senisca Ltd. in the UK and Lyramid Ltd. in Australia, developing antisense oligonucleotide therapies for healthy aging and cancer; this work led to her being named an inventor on an international patent application. She serves as a senior postdoctoral scientist on a multi-year research program funded by Sarepta Therapeutics in the US. Her publications include 'Proof-of-Concept: Antisense Oligonucleotide Mediated Exon Skipping as a Therapeutic Strategy for Malan Overgrowth Syndrome' (Genes, 2021), 'Induced alternative splicing: an opportunity to study PCSK9 protein isoforms at physiologically relevant concentrations' (Scientific Reports, 2023), 'A Patient Case of Malan Syndrome Involving 19p13.2 Microduplication Including NOTCH1: Exploring Therapeutic Potential' (Genes, 2024), 'Is Exon Skipping a Viable Therapeutic Approach for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome?' (Journal of Personalized Medicine, 2024), and contributions to 'Overgrowth-intellectual disability disorders: progress in biology, patient advocacy, and innovative therapies' (2025). In 2025, she received the Early-Mid Career Researcher Aspire Award from Business Events Perth. Cale supervises honours and PhD students, including projects in PC2 facilities, and participates in grant-funded research such as the Malan Syndrome Foundation grant.