Andrew Wilks is an molecular biologist and cancer cell biologist. Working at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Melbourne) from 1988 to 1998, he led the Growth Regulation Laboratory. He and his laboratory made transformative discoveries in the signal transduction field as well as in neurogenesis and angiogenesis. Wilks has completed a rare “trifecta” – discovering and patenting a number of important drug discovery targets (viz. JAK1 and JAK2) and defining their role(s) in cytokine signalling; founding one of Australia’s most successful biotech companies, Cytopia; and co‐inventing and leading the team that delivered the therapeutic JAK inhibitor, momelotinib.