[1] Tansey was educated at the University of Sheffield where she was awarded a PhD in 1978[2] for histochemical studies of the brain in cephalopods.

After switching fields from neuroscience[3] to the history of science, she was awarded a second PhD in the history of science for her research on the early career of the nobel laureate Henry Hallett Dale.

[5][6][7] Tansey's Witness Seminar series, held at the Wellcome Trust Centre, had the aim of bringing together medical professionals, scientists and technicians in group discussions, with the purpose of learning about significant periods in the history recent medicine.

[8][9][10] Topics covered have included oral contraceptives, genetic testing, and post-penicillin antibiotics.

[16] In 2015, at the centenary of women's membership of the Physiological Society, Tansey received the Paton prize and presented her prize lecture entitled Maude, Nettie, Ghetel and George, a study of some women married to early nineteenth century Physiological Society members.