Rate My Professor Leonie Ashman

Emeritus Professor Leonie Ashman is a cell and molecular biologist in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of Newcastle. She holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from Flinders University. Professor Ashman joined the University of Newcastle in 2002 as a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Gladys Brawn Professorial Fellow, having previously worked at the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research and the University of Adelaide. Over a 35-year career, she has published 150 papers in refereed international journals and conference proceedings. Her career history includes appointments such as NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science in Adelaide from 1992 to 2001 and Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide from 1993 to 2001. She has served on NHMRC Grant Review Panels for Cell Biology in 2005-2006 and Research Fellowships Advisory Panel in 2001-2002, as well as the University of Newcastle's Faculty of Health Research Management Committee in 2002-2003.

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.