As Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global and Research Engagement), Professor Belov has responsibility for pivotal areas of the University’s Research Portfolio related to academic research partnerships, centres and institutes. She leads the Office of Global Engagement, oversees the University’s multidisciplinary initiatives and stewards relations and agreements with the University’s affiliated research institutes. She also focuses on developing the University’s national and international partnerships to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Professor Belov is one of Australia’s leading geneticists and leads a team of researchers using immunogenetics to study immunity and health in Australia’s native wildlife, including Tasmanian devils, koalas, wallabies, platypus and other species. She has participated in large international sequencing consortia and was an active participant in the opossum, platypus and tammar wallaby genome projects.

In recognition of her research discoveries, she is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of NSW. She was awarded the Fenner Medal by the Australian Academy of Sciences in 2014, the Crozier Medal by the Genetics Society of Australasia (2013) and the MJD White Medal by the Genetics Society of Australasia (2021).

She is a member of the NSW Koala Expert Advisory Group and serves on scientific advisory boards at Taronga Zoo and the Ramaciotti Centre. She is co-chair of the International Policy Advisory Committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and a trustee of the Australian Museum, where she chairs the Science Advisory Board. Kathy is also on the Council of the Royal Society of NSW and is a past president of the Genetics Society of Australasia.

Kathy is also passionate about mentoring others and has supervised 11 postdocs, 20 PhD students, 13 masters and 29 honours students.