Cate joined UCL having been Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Dean of Pharmacy at Durham University. She has developed a number of innovative courses to support the professional development of both pharmacists and pharmacy students to meet changing healthcare needs.She has undertaken research to improve medication safety and to assess interventions to improve patients' health. She is the Head of the Research Division of Practice and Policy and Associate Director of Clinical Education at the UCL School of Pharmacy. Cate is also editor of 'Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics' a core international text book for both undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacists.

At Durham University Cate developed the clinical skills course as part of the MPharm degree to ensure  the underpinning knowledge and skills to undertake prescribing were integrated into the programme. Prior to moving to Durham, Cate was a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London. Cate's interest in public health led her to evaluate the community pharmacists role in providing alcohol short brief interventions. In addition, with colleagues she developed a course to allow community pharmacists to supply oral contraception under a patient group direction. While at King's College London Cate developed and led the Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing and was Course Director of the MSc in Pharmacy Practice. In collaboration with colleagues in  NHS hospital Trusts in London and Wales, Cate has undertaken research into medication safety with a special interest in risk reduction strategies including automation.

Cate was previously a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University. Here she conducted research into the community pharmacists' role in adverse drug reaction reporting. and developed collaborative partnerships across multidisciplinary teams. Cate graduated from the University of Brighton, after which she worked as a hospital pharmacist. Following a PhD at King's College London she moved to Wales to become Assistant Director of the Welsh Centre for Post Graduate Education and developed training for hospital pharmacists. During this time Cate completed a MSc in Methods and Applications of Social Research at Cardiff University. She has been an external examiner at a number of UK universities and is the external advisor for the pharmacists prescribing course in New Zealand run by the University of Auckland.