[1] Trinajstic was awarded a Bachelor of Science, (Hons), in ecology and evolutionary biology, from Murdoch University in 1996.
In 2011 she was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship, titled 'Fleshing out the fossil record', which was designed to investigate the development of early vertebrates, and the skeleton and specific musculature.
The campaign was designed to address the gender balance in the workforce, and while Research Dean for the faculty, she commented that the program was "a good starting point to attracting talented academic females into the Faculty" and "The benefits of increasing gender representation can start to be realised ensuring we continue to grow a diverse and inclusive environment for all"[6] She worked on a new metric to assess academics, with the aim of overcoming bias in gender and valid across various career stages.
Trinajstic has written various articles for the media, including The Conversation,[14][15] describing links between sharks and human disease.
[14] She has also published in The Conversation on research on vertebral sexual organs, and how they may have evolved as an extra pair of legs.