Research Interests
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Genetically Modified Animals Genetics Medical GeneticsMr Caleb Lushington
NHMRC Grant-Funded Researcher A
School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
College of Health
Caleb is a Postdoctoral researcher at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) in the Genome Editing Lab, under the Precision Medicine theme. His focus entails the improvement of genome editing systems, in particular prime editing, and strategies for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), under the supervision of Prof. Paul Thomas and Dr. Fatwa Adikusuma.
Caleb is a postdoctoral researcher in the Paul Thomas Genome Editing Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Paul Thomas and Dr Fatwa Adikusuma. This UoA lab is based at SAHMRI in the Life Long Health theme with support from the Robinson Research Institute.
In his Honourary year (BSC), Caleb worked in an interdisciplinary environment using cutting-edge technologies in the field of genome editing. A large focus of his studies have been directed towards the improvement of the Prime Editing system that have since been applied both in vitro and in vivo. These improvements have allowed for the modelling of genetic diseases with high efficiency.
His PhD expanded upon improving editing systems and applying them in a genetic disease setting. This includes the in vitro and in vivo modelling of genetic diseases (CF and DMD) with a more simplified and precise editing system, useful for pathological research. Following this, he underpins the clinical relevance of modified editing systems by applying them in the correction of disease models to healthy disease free subjects.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 - ongoing | Postdoctoral Researcher | University of Adelaide |
| 2021 - 2026 | PhD Candidate | University of Adelaide |
| 2015 - ongoing | Bartender | Golding Wines |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 - 2020 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| 2016 - 2019 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Bachelor of Science |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Stanziano, E., Wilczek, V., Harnas, D., Tangseefa, P., Piltz, S., White, M., . . . Fitter, S. (2025). Investigation of <i>SIK3</i> and <i>CEP164</i> variant pathogenicity in human fetuses with severe skeletal defects. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS Vol. 33 (pp. 600). ITALY, Milan: SPRINGERNATURE. |
| 2025 | White, M., Piltz, S., Lushington, C., Adikusuma, F., & Thomas, P. (2025). Primed for success: unlocking essential gene editing with prime nuclease. In TRANSGENIC RESEARCH Vol. 34 (pp. 44). SPRINGER. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Arthurs, A., Dietrich, B., Knöfler, M., Lushington, C., Thomas, P., Adikusuma, F., . . . Roberts, C. (2024). Genetically edited human placental organoids cast new light on the role of ACE2 in placental development. DOI Europe PMC1 |
| 2024 | Chey, Y., Gierus, L., Lushington, C., Arudkumar, J., Geiger, A., Staker, L., . . . Adikusuma, F. (2024). Enhancing gRNA Transcript levels by Reducing the Scaffold Poly-T Tract for Optimal SpCas9- and SaCas9-mediated Gene Editing. DOI |
| 2021 | Adikusuma, F., Lushington, C., Arudkumar, J., Godahewa, G., Chey, Y. C. J., Gierus, L., . . . Thomas, P. (2021). Optimized nickase- and nuclease-based prime editing in human and mouse cells. DOI |
In 2024, Caleb was awarded the Robinson Research Institute International Travel Grant and the University of Adelaide Medical School and School of Biomedicine Travel and Research Support Award to assist with his attendance and presentation at the CSHL CRISPR Frontiers Conference in New York.
Caleb has been instrumental in mentoring students in the PQT lab. This has included undergraduate placement students, masters students and is currently co-supervisor of a PhD student. Outside of this, he has presented lectures at the University of Adelaide to Biochemistry classes on the current innovations and landscape of CRISPR genome editing.
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