In her role as a Research Scientist with CSIRO, Mary contributed substantially to the cotton industry for over 20 years through her science on IPM, which ranged from looking at the role of spiders as key predators of insect pests, through to exploring the relationship between application of sprays for sucking pests and impacts on yield.

She also studied the genetics of Helicoverpa and how that might affect their ability to survive on Bt cotton and transferred IPM knowledge from cotton systems to grains systems. She was widely supportive of summer students undertaking industry projects and STEM professional activities in general.

Mary also made significant contributions to the AACS, particularly during its development and founding in 2012. She chaired the organising committee for the first AACS conference and provided important input to the executive between 2012 to 2019.

Mary is currently a Senior Research Scientist in Insect Biological Control with Macquarie University and NSW DPI where she is applying her knowledge of IPM to other industries and environments.