Ashley Dunn's international reputation initiated with the seminal discovery of discontinuous genes and RNA splicing. The molecular biology laboratory he subsequently founded in Melbourne achieved rapid success by cloning the genes encoding granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and demonstrating the leukaemogenic potential of autocrine production of this myeloid growth factor. His studies of haemopoietic tyrosine kinases provided the first evidence for translational regulation within the src kinase family. He is currently clarifying the role of different cytokines by disruption of the corresponding genes and has demonstrated that a natural mouse mutant has a dysfunctional cytokine receptor.