Patricia is Deputy Chancellor at the University of Canberra.  She currently chairs the Australian Research Integrity Committee, the National Youth Science Forum and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Regional Centre.

She is a Director of DMTC, a not-for-profit company facilitating research and collaboration between Defence, defence industry and the research sector, and a Director of Co-operative Research Australia (formerly the CRC Association).  She also serves on the Audit Committee of the Australian Department of Finance.

In 2019-2021 she chaired the Council Preparatory Task Force for the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, an international collaboration to build the world’s largest and most advanced radio telescope. 

 Prior to this Patricia had a public sector career spanning over thirty years. Between 2013 and 2018 Patricia was Director-General of IP Australia (the Australian patent and trade mark office).  Before joining IP Australia, Patricia was a Deputy Secretary in Commonwealth departments responsible for industry, science and innovation from 2004 -2013.