[1][better source needed] Richards began her postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, in the laboratory of Professor Dennis O'Leary.

In 2005 she returned to Australia, taking up a position at the University of Queensland, where she was appointed Associate Professor in the QBI, and the School of Biomedical Sciences.

The research focus of her laboratory to study the development of the cortical midline in animal models and in human tissue.

[3] In particular, she is involved in researching a phenomenon where the corpus callosum is absent (agenesis) or disformed (dysgenesis) in the developing brain.

Most cited articles include Agenesis of the corpus callosum: genetic, developmental and functional aspects of connectivity (2007),[12] Neuropilin-1 conveys semaphorin and VEGF signaling during neural and cardiovascular development (2003),[13] and De novo generation of neuronal cells from the adult mouse brain (1992).