Dr. Laurie Ailles is an award winning senior scientist at UHN's Princess Margaret Cancer Center whose pioneering research revealed the origins of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Her discovery is now paving the way towards more accurate and individualized prognoses that better inform potential treatments and improve outcomes for patients with the disease. Dr. Ailles’ also speaks to her career path as a successful medical science researcher, which traces back to her peripatetic childhood journey of living in several countries around the world as the daughter of a CIDA employee. She credits those experiences for shaping her outlook and contributing to her resilience as a researcher.