Cassandra Berry
Professor-Immunology, Murdoch University, Western Australia
Australian living in Western Australia
Cassandra is an expert in microbiology and a graduate of the University of Western Australia. She trained in designing live attenuated influenza virus vaccines at the National Institutes of Health (USA). Cassandra has held various senior roles in research institutes, including nearly 20 years as a full Professor of Immunology at Murdoch University. Her teaching approaches are research-informed and enriched with storytelling from personal experiences. She has influenced thousands of undergraduates and PhD students in biomedicine, utilising her creativity and imagination. Cassandra inspires students to learn through virtual reality (VR) educational games and has received numerous teaching accolades. Innovation via VR immersive experiences seeks better ways to engage learners, bringing scientific concepts to life. In 2025, she travelled to Antarctica with over 120 women in STEMM for the global Homeward Bound leadership initiative. This transformative journey reinforced her belief in leadership based on joy, love and compassion to connect people to our wider environment for a more sustainable future. Cassandra continues to excel in quality education to ensure that emerging leaders in the One Health sphere are well-equipped with skills to address the threats of future world health crises, including pandemic preparedness.
