Dr. Ashleigh Poh is an early-career biomedical researcher located within the Cancer and Inflammation Program at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute. Her research was the first to identify a tumour-promoting role for the myeloid-specific kinase HCK in gastrointestinal cancers by enhancing the polarization of immunosuppressive macrophages. These findings have leveraged major industry-related partnerships with the Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx) and the Australian Government-supported National Drug Discovery Centre (NDDC) to develop small molecule HCK inhibitors for clinical use. Dr Poh has continued to build her independence by securing independent funding as Principal Investigator / CIA on 9-HCK focused research grants, including a prestigious NHMRC Peter Doherty Early Career Fellowship.