Cath is currently Director of International Affairs at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). She moved into a career in policy and advocacy in the health and science sector after more than 15 years as a biomedical researcher. In her current role, her focus is on connecting Australia’s STEM knowledge, capacity and expertise to the global STEM community.

Cath was awarded her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Queensland in 2005 before heading to Columbia University in New York City. She then returned to Australia to the Burnet Institute in Melbourne where her research in infectious diseases piqued her interest in broader policy issues affecting health and research. Combined with her passion for advocacy, in 2015 she joined the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI), the peak body for medical research institutes, to contribute to the advancement of health and medical research by enabling a positive policy environment. In 2021, she was the Interim CEO at the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences – a challenging and exciting time for health and medical research sector as the country (and world) was navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cath has led range of strategic policy work in priority areas for medical research including funding and workforce, as well as representing the sector on a wide range of policy issues influencing health and medical research more broadly. She is passionate about advancing equality, diversity and inclusion, and strives to apply this lens in all her work. Cath now lives in Canberra and enjoys spending her downtime cycling, cooking and chatting to friends over a long black.