Kat completed her PhD in the ANU Fenner School, where she compared the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of ground-dwelling beetle assemblages (Coleoptera) across a fragmented mixed-cropping landscape in the NSW Lachlan Catchment region. Findings from her study show that farmlands provide important habitat for a large proportion of beetle species. Her collaborative PhD research was supported by Central Tablelands LLS; and her supervisors were Prof Don Driscoll (Deakin Uni), Prof David Lindenmayer, Dr Philip Barton (Fenner ANU), Dr Sarina Macfadyen and Dr Sue McIntyre (CSIRO). Previously, she studied inter-seasonal differences when monitoring grazing responses, and factors affecting the detectability of weeds in grassy box-gum woodlands as part of a Master of Environment degree at the Fenner School.

Kat is currently an honorary lecturer in Fenner School of Environment and Society. She has a diverse, multidisciplinary research interests that include invasive species, biosecurity, insect ecology, data science and applied natural resource management.