She is a Professor of Statistics at Queensland University of Technology, and 2024 winner of the Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture from the Australian Academy of Science.

[3][4][5] Mengersen earned BA (Hons I) and PhD degrees in mathematics, majoring in Statistics and Computing, from the University of New England (Armidale, New South Wales, Australia) in 1985 and 1989, respectively.

This group is part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) of Big Data, Big Models, New Insights.

[11] In October 2015, her research in building virtual habitats was highlighted on the ABC.

[12] Mengersen was the National President of the Statistical Society of Australia (SSAI) in 2013, and was the International President of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (ISBA) in 2016.