Dr Lauren Ashwood received her PhD on molecular characterisation of sea anemone venom from the Queensland University of Technology in 2022. As part of her PhD, she employed integrated multi-omics analyses to investigate venom regulation and identified a number of novel toxin peptides, which are being screened as candidates for drug development. 

In November 2022, she joined Dr Olga Kondrashova’s Molecular Oncology group at QIMR Berghofer, where she continues to develop her bioinformatic skills. Dr Ashwood is applying her expertise to explore how genomics can be used to predict treatment resistance and identify novel strategies to improve treatment outcomes for lung and endometrial cancer patients.