Professor Helen Abud is Head of the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Co-head of the Development and Stem Cells Program and Head of the Stem Cells and Cancer Laboratory at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. Prof Abud is an internationally recognised leader in intestinal stem cell biology and cancer, was elected as the President of the Australian Society for Stem Cell Research (2020-2022) and is the founding Director of the Monash BDI Organoid Program (2016-2022). Prof Abud initially trained at WEHI in Melbourne before completing her doctorate in Biochemistry at Oxford University, followed by postdoctoral training in the Department of Anatomy (Oxford, UK), Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Melbourne, Australia) and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Melbourne). Her laboratory utilises patient-derived organoids to investigate epithelial repair and the mechanisms governing the plasticity of stem cells in colorectal cancer. Prof Abud has established key collaborations with clinicians at Cabrini and Monash Health to establish over 200 patient-derived organoid lines to gain mechanistic insight into cancer sub-types and translate findings to assist physicians in precision medicine.