Over her 27 years at Murdoch University, Cassie has taught thousands of students in 10 different units and supervised many HDR students

Dr Cassandra Berry, Professor of Immunology, has worked with Murdoch University for 27 years. Throughout her time at Murdoch, she has worked under 7 different Vice Chancellors and many different department names - since before the school of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences existed- and has been an inspiration to colleagues and students alike. This August, Cassie retired, marking the end of a 40-year-long career in science. Cassie has received numerous awards for her work, spanning across research, administrative roles and teaching. 

During high school, Cassie had very broad interests, combining both arts and sciences. But it was during a lab tour with one of her dad’s friends, who worked in microbiology, that her interest in microbes and vaccines was sparked. From there, she went on to study biomedical science at UWA and completed her honours investigating the immune response of mice with cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV is a relatively common virus that remains in the body for life. While many people have mild or no symptoms, in people with compromised immune systems, it can be fatal. She went on to pursue her PhD on the same virus, assessing genetic mechanisms of resistance. After completing her PhD, she worked for UWA before undertaking a two-year Fogarty Fellowship at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. During her time there, she conducted research on influenza vaccines, resulting in a patent for a novel live-attenuated virus vaccine technology.

After her fellowship in America, she served as a Research Officer at the Perron Institute, then at UWA, writing papers and securing funding for myositis and interferon research. In 1999, she started working for Murdoch as a lecturer after seeing the job advertised in a newspaper. While Cassie was anxious about public speaking, she felt compelled to share information and appreciated the stability Murdoch provided. Her role at Murdoch has included both teaching and research, and across her research career, she has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles

In addition to her research in viruses and immunology, teaching has been a strong focus for Cassie, having coordinated 10 different units over her time at Murdoch. She has taught units across all year levels and supervised many students across honours, master's, and PhD. Cassie believes in “making every student count, no matter what their background”, and this empathetic approach, combined with her depth of knowledge and experience, has made her an excellent teacher. In addition to teaching students, she has been involved in outreach activities for girls in STEM and in the media, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also held many other roles within the university; she served as the academic chair of biomedical science and has served on numerous committees. Cassie was also the Research Institute Director for the Integrated Health Research Institute, which allowed her to procure research funding for the university and uplift early-career researchers.

Since her retirement, Cassie has been appointed Emerita Professor, the first from the school to receive this honorary title. Going forward, Cassie looks forward to spending more time with family and on her hobbies, though she’s not planning to completely leave science behind. She is still passionate about public health and education, and plans to continue her collaborations using virtual reality, and helping to educate the general population about public health matters. She also hopes to continue her role as a mentor, especially to women in STEM, highlighted by her experience from her recent expedition to Antarctica.

“I think the future will be quite bright.”

Written by Jamie Lornie