Dr Helen Abud is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Epithelial Regeneration Laboratory in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology within the School of Biomedical Sciences at Monash University. Following her undergraduate degree at Melbourne University, she initially trained at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute before undertaking her doctorate at Oxford University in cell and developmental biology. This was followed by postdoctoral training in the Department of Anatomy (Oxford), Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Melbourne) and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Melbourne). Dr Abud's current research is supported by 4 NH&MRC project grants and is centred on understanding the molecular mechanisms and environmental influences that regulate stem cells within tissues. Dr Abud has a particular interest in molecules that promote intestinal development and regeneration following damage and how these factors may be altered in colon cancer.