[10][11][12] She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Merton College, Oxford in biochemistry under the supervision of Eric Newsholme[13] and George Radda.

[15] Her graduate research was supervised by Jeffrey F. Dunn[3] and investigated the use of magnetic resonance imaging methods to study disease in humans.

[12] As an early career researcher, Tracey held a postdoctoral position at Harvard Medical School, working at the MGH-NMR imaging centre (now Martinos) applying magnetic spectroscopy techniques to understand AIDS Dementia Complex.

[17] She was appointed university lecturer in 2001 at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics; during this time, she was also a tutor in medicine and Fellow of Christ Church.

[22] In her first oration as vice-chancellor in October 2023, Tracey addressed the controversy surrounding a university-backed appearance by Kathleen Stock, a gender-critical feminist which attracted protests.

She defended free speech but was saddened by the attacks and abuse heaped at the university's transgender community during her first year.

[24] In May of that year, a group of pro-Palestinian student protestors staged a demonstration in Tracey's office while she was there, which led to their arrest.

[10] Her team has also investigated how pain-relief treatments can produce altered states of consciousness[30] and how religious beliefs can affect and alleviate pain.

Tracey was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2022 New Year Honours List for services to medical research.