Jo graduated in 1985 with a B.A. Nursing and Registered General Nurse qualification. She worked in a range of clinical settings before completing a MSc Nurse Education at the University of Edinburgh in 1991, followed by a Registered Nurse Tutor qualification in 1992. Her first teaching position was at the University of Abertay where she was Programme Leader until 2001 when she moved to the University of Dundee. Here she held various leadership positions including Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching in the School of Health Sciences, before taking up her current role as the School's lead for Educational Impact Evaluation. 

Jo completed her PhD IN 2002, her doctoral work focused on nurse education.

Jo has taught across all levels of higher education from undergraduate to PhD and has led the development of a wide range of post-registration and postgraduate distance learning programmes for both home and international students building on her doctoral work. She is a Higher Education Academy Senior Fellow.  

Jo's early research interests focused on family-centred care and nurse education, in particular education for qualified and international health professionals. As School lead for Impact Evaluation her research is currently focused on promoting mental well-being and resilience in students and the use of technology to support student learning.