After undergraduate training at the University of Westminster in London, Professor Quinn undertook a PhD at the University of Edinburgh in Developmental Genetics. After post-doctoral positions at the Duncan Guthrie Institute for Medical Research in Glasgow, and MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, AProf Quinn awarded a prestigious Medical Research Council Research Fellowship in 2000 to continue research into the role of the Pax6 gene in eye and brain development. She continued to work on the role of transcription factors in embryonic development for the next 12 years.

Professor Quinn moved to Charles Sturt University in 2008 to be part of a new School of Animal and Veterinary Science. This school has a mission to deliver qualified veterinarians with a focus on large animal practice for rural and regional Australia. Since that date her research has focused on strategies to improve livestock productivity and economic outcomes for the Australian farming sector using innovative field and molecular technology based approaches, and particularly the discovery of novel pharmaceuticals or management practices for the animal health industries and projects that aim to improve productivity in Australian sheep and beef systems, several of which have been awarded patent protection.

Her research is extensively funded by Meat and Livestock Australia as well as and numerous industry partners. As a member of Knowledge Commercialisation Australia, Associate Dean Research for the Faculty of Science she creates opportunity for industry partnerships and commercialisation for her research and others.

Professor Quinn has supervised numerous honours, Masters and PhD students and is passionate about training the next generation of impactful researchers for science and industry.