Later that year, she traveled to Stanford University after receiving a Fulbright Program fellowship.
[1] There, she studied under James P. Collman and completed a 1985 PhD titled 'The organometallic chemistry of ruthenium and osmium porphyrin complexes.'
[3] The next year, Brothers returned to the University of Auckland as a postdoctoral researcher, rising to full professor in 2009.
[2][3] During her early career, she played a large role in establishing her field of porphyrin chemistry; as of 2018, she is the only researcher who has studied the role of boron in porphyrins or corroles.
[4] She is also on the editorial board of the journal Chemical Communications as associate editor.