Professor Pettit is the Director of Biomedical Research and leads the Bone and Immunology Research Group at Mater Research Institute-The University of Queensland (UQ). She completed a PhD in 2000 at UQ and has published over 80 scientific manuscripts attracting over 6000 citations. She has led basic biological discoveries in bone biology, immunology and haematology and has translated these into understanding myeloid cell contributions to bone regeneration, bone diseases, cancer pathology and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Of note, Professor Pettit's Team pioneered understanding of macrophage contributions to bone health, regeneration and pathology through characterisation of osteal macrophages (osteomacs) and their influence on the function of both osteoblasts and osteoclasts.