Rate My Professor Leonie Ashman

Professor Ashman's research centers on the cellular and molecular biology of cancer, with major themes in haemopoiesis and leukaemia, regulation of cellular behaviour by cell surface receptors, cellular signalling, and development of novel targeted therapeutics. Key contributions include the identification of the receptor tyrosine kinase c-KIT at the protein level, publication of the first monoclonal antibody to it, and the first description of c-KIT expression by haemopoietic progenitor cells in bone marrow. Her group identified the novel tetraspanin protein CD151, cloned the gene, and generated the first CD151 knock-out mice, demonstrating its role in modifying cell adhesion and migration and its importance in cancer metastasis. Ongoing interests focus on the role of mutant c-KIT in acute myeloid leukaemia and other cancers, and new drugs targeting this receptor. Selected publications include the book chapter 'Tetraspanins in Cancer' (2013), 'Cell Line Models Identify Different Sensitivity of Mutant Forms of c-KIT to Kinase Inhibitory Drugs' (2011), and conference papers such as 'Tetraspanins CD151 and CD9: Metastatic Markers in Prostate Cancer' (various years). She teaches in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science program on cancer biology and novel drug development and has supervised numerous postgraduate students.