As a clinical academic, she has always combined hospital practice with research and teaching. She was able to test hypotheses regarding the determinants and manifestations of frailty through the interrogation of large datasets. She has published widely on the inflammatory aetiology of frailty, the difficulties of measuring frailty in clinical practice and the relationships between frailty and obesity, smoking, socioeconomic status and exercise. Based on the impact of her publications, she is currently ranked number 3 in a list of frailty experts worldwide (http://expertscape.com/ex/frail+elderly).
As a passionate advocate for her discipline, she is promoting academic geriatrics among Advanced Trainees, medical students and Allied Health colleagues. She has generated more than $9.3 million in grant income in the last 5 years, including as CIA on 2 NHMRC Project Grants.