[1][2][5] She has spent 20 years focused on Antarctic conservation science and environmental policy; working on a diverse range of plants and animals, ecosystems and management issues.

[7][8] Her research has directly impacted policy, via her advice to the Australian state and federal governments and through her work for the Committee for Environmental Protection of the Antarctic Treaty System.

[13][14] This work had wide uptake in the media at a global scale appearing in Australian, Indian, French, US and Malaysian newspapers,[15][16][17] reporting that Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems require greater protection from human activities.

Her research received its most prominent exposure when it was profiled on a segment on Last Week Tonight highlighting the risk to Antarctica posed by human visitors, with the YouTube clip alone reaching over 2 million views.

[29][14] Dr Shaw is a member of the Australian Academy of Science's Early Mid Career Forum Executive Committee.