Fireside chat: building better translational models for mRNA therapeutics

Nucleic Acid Insights 2026; 3(8), 527–533

DOI: 10.18609/nai.2026.067

Published: 16 September
Interview
Daniella Ishimaru, Joe Cefalu

“Once we can improve targeting and reduce toxicity, it is really going to be a major leap forward for the field.”

Realizing the promise of mRNA therapeutics beyond vaccines depends on developing predictive translational models and overcoming persistent delivery challenges. In this fireside chat, Daniella Ishimaru, Independent Consultant, and Joe Cefalu, Formerly Executive Director of In vivo Pharmacology, ReCode Therapeutics, discuss the preclinical and translational hurdles facing mRNA-LNP therapeutics, exploring the value of disease models with reliable functional benchmarks, and the targeting, durability, and toxicity questions that will shape the field over the coming years.