She is deputy vice-chancellor (research) at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
[1] McGrath was educated at Burnside High School in Christchurch, and went on to study at the University of Canterbury, where she completed a BSc(Hons) degree in chemistry.
[2] On returning to New Zealand, McGrath lectured in chemistry at the University of Otago in Dunedin, where she also completed a postgraduate diploma in finance.
In 2004, she moved to Victoria University of Wellington where she lectured in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, and rose to the rank of full professor.
She also held the position of vice-provost (research) and in 2011 was appointed director of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.