Professor Dawson is a clinician-scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Centre for Cancer Research at the University of Melbourne.

She is the co-program head of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Program, Group leader of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory, and Medical Oncologist in the Breast Unit.

Her current research interests are focused on the development of noninvasive blood-based biomarkers ('liquid biopsies') for clinical application, including early detection, risk stratification, and disease monitoring in cancer management.